Novelty

Chapters

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four: Section One

Chapter One

Another empty one. How nice.

You toss the oyster to the side and watch it float away to join the pile. A good number of them were laying about next to you, and they all shared at least one quality: they held no pearl.

You had grown to expect that. There was an immeasurably small chance of finding one anyway. Most of these scallops were far too young to bear a gem anyway. Still, you always held hope. The more you collected, the better.

You sigh lightly and decide to call it quits for the day. You had been pearl-hunting for the better part of an hour, and after some time, it gets rather boring. But hey, if your progress was anything to go by, you were doing something right. Back home you had a rather impressive collection. You have seventeen saved up, if you recall correctly.

Speaking of home, you turn around and begin swimming that direction. Waving your tail, you begin to move your body through the ocean water, heading for familiar territory. It was a rather nice day. The water wasn't too chilly, the current was gentle, and the sea life wasn't out to eat you. The only creatures you happened to pass, minus the scallops, were a few schools of fish.

This part of the seafloor was rather barren. Most of it was just rocks and sand. You saw a few coral structures here and there, but none of it was that impressive. The majority of them were dead or dying, so this area was rather depressing. You weren't out here to observe the serenity and beauty of the area though, so it didn't really make a difference to you.

You continue swimming, the satchel around your shoulder waving to and fro with your movement. It was currently empty, as your searching today failed to yield any fruit. It was the general outcome of these little excursions, but every now and then, you would hit just one pearl. It was those moments that made it all worthwhile.

At this point, you can see your home coming into view. It was a rather spacious cave that you had found one day. After having had to relocate after an infestation of lobsters in your previous home, you had scouted out a new location to live in. This one was much closer to the shore than he would have liked, but you didn't mind. It was roomy, had a good flow of currents, and you are rather fond of the shore, much to his dismay.

You swim up to the entrance and go right in. Once inside, you are immediately ambushed by a small, squishy creature latching itself to your chest. Though it took some time to get used to that, you knew well enough what it was to not be terrified by it now.

"Hi Linnaeus," you say. The small blob squeaks in response.

It was your pet jellyfish and good buddy, Linnaeus. You found the little guy when you moved. He was just maturing from a small polyp when you found him. It looked so weak and helpless, and you couldn't find it in your heart to simply leave him. You took him under your care and he grew to love you unconditionally. He often accompanied you on pearl-hunts, but you requested to go alone this time.

The little guy was rather cute once you get past the lack of a face. He had a transparent dome, along with several stubby, pink tentacles. Luckily for you, he was harmless. You've had encounters with jellyfish that aren't so peaceful. You thought those burns would never go away. Linnaeus was much more tame, greeting you happily any time you returned home.

You brush off the sticky creature and begin to swim towards your room, Linnaeus following close by. Your home was a large cave that had several annexes, one of which belonged solely to you. Passing through the main room, which housed some makeshift chairs, you turn right towards the small entrance to your portion of the cave.

Swimming through the small corridor, you look up to your left and bat the glowstalk on the wall, causing it to illuminate the room with a bright, blue glow. Your room was simplistic, just how you liked it. In the corner was a large sea sponge that served as your bed. To the right was a large stone slab which functioned as a door. You could slide it into place over your entrance, and it not only blocked anyone from entering, but also was soundproof. Across from the entrance was your chest, which held pretty much everything you had. You also had installed a secret compartment to store your pearls in the wall next to your bed.

The room wasn't much, but it served its purpose: housing a very bored seapony like you. You float over to your bed and lay on your back. Sighing again, you wonder when it would all change. You had been living in this room, doing the same thing you do every day, again and again. It grew to be a dull existence. After all, what is a life without friends?

Friends...the one thing you would never have. Sure, Linnaeus was good company, but you can't exactly hold a conversation with a jellyfish. He has no idea what you mean when you say 'life kinda sucks.' What could you do? You were forbidden from doing pretty much anything.

It's how it goes, being a seapony. You can't let anyone know about you. You can't let anyone see you. You can't converse with anyone. It's some stupid rule that has been enforced upon you for years. For as long as you can remember, this is how it had been. Some strange, innate sense of anonymity was required of you.

And you absolutely hate it.

Why must you be forced to hide? Those called the 'surface dwellers' probably have so much to offer than life down here. Why can't you just speak with them? It's not like they could hunt you down if they didn't take a liking to you. The sea is far more expansive than the land. What was there to fear?

For a long time, you never really minded this rule. You just thought that's how things were meant to be. But as you got older, you began questioning. Who decided you had to hide? What's the big deal? You've gone to the surface before, and it doesn't seem at all malicious. Who's to say you can't go up there?

"I'm back!"

Oh, right. He's to say.

You groan slightly and float off your bed, heading for the main room. Though you often don't want to see him, you knew you had to. Exiting your room, you find the familiar body of the only other seapony you knew.

"Hey, Swift." you say, unenthusiastic.

"What's up?" he replies.

"Nothing much." you respond simply.

It was none other than your older brother, Swift. As the only other seapony you know, you had spent your entire life with him. You had lived together, eaten together, and done pretty much everything together. He had been with you ever since you were born. Being the eldest, he was in charge of you.

And you absolutely hate it.

You often thought Swift had let that fact get to his head rather often. While you never knew your father (or your mother for that matter), he had apparently left Swift in charge. He had also apparently told Swift of that rule about never going to the surface. Whenever you argued about it and how it would be perfectly safe, he would always respond with the 'dad said' act.

But that's slowly become moot to you. As you grew older, you began to follow his command less and less. You still loathe the day that he had been put in charge, but you were slowly beginning to rebel against him. Discreetly, of course. Truth be told, he doesn't even know about your pearl collecting hobby. It was just one of the things you kept hidden from him. It's not like he knows of your little outings to the surface every now and then.

Speaking of that...

"Hey, Swift, I think I'm gonna-"

"I brought back some fresh seaweed. I'll start making dinner!" he says, cutting you off.

"Oh, alright." you reply with slight annoyance in your voice. "Hey, I'm gonna go out for a bit."

He quickly turns to face you. "Where ya going?"

"Out. Just going for a breather." you respond, keeping your voice cool.

"Alright, don't be going to the surface now." he replies.

You roll your eyes slightly. "Yeah, like I've not heard that one before, right?"

He takes a more fierce look on his face. "I'm serious, don't do it."

"I'm not going to, jeez." you reply, waving a fin nonchalantly.

He glares at you for a few seconds, as if he's trying to scare you. It's not like that ever works anyway, but if it makes him feel satisfied, you go with it. "Alright," he says. "Just be back for dinner, kay?"

"Yeah, yeah." you reply coolly. With that, you swim out of the cave.

Annoying wretch, you think coldly.

You've grown to hate him. For years and years he's repressed you, made you follow him. That one order that has constantly been uttered by him has been burned into your brain after so long. "Don't go to the surface." You've heard it countless times.

It's not like you ever listened to that order anymore anyway. Unbeknownst to him, you go to the surface rather often. You can only imagine his fury if he knew. You aren't stupid about it, though. The spot you surface in is rather secluded from the neighboring city. Very rarely are any ponies there, and when they are, they're nowhere near you.

Exiting the cave, you turn back to see Linnaeus following you cheerfully. Even with as safe as you found the surface to be, you still didn't want him following you up there.

"Stay here bud, I'll be back in a bit." You say to him, stroking his dome.

He squeaks quietly in sadness, but follows your orders. He pulses his tentacles and floats back inside the cavern.

Making sure that he's fully tucked himself away, you begin to swim away from the cave. Time to find your favorite spot to surface.

~*~*~

"Go on, get out of here!"

You flail your fins in an attempt to get a rather pesky school of fish away from you. They had taken a liking to you, for whatever reason, and had followed you for a good distance as you made your way to the shoreline.

"Shoo! Scram!" you yell, attempting to scare them off.

They simply stare at you with the smallest amount of comprehension in their eyes. Something about you just fascinated them, and it was getting rather annoying. They were just a bunch of harmless minnows, but they were still unsettling nonetheless.

You groan to yourself, trying to think of a way to rid of them. Looking around, your eyes settle on a lone sea turtle. Knowing this wouldn't even work, you decide to give it a shot anyway.

"Hey! Look!" You point a fin towards the shelled creature. "Sea turtle!"

At the uttering of the creatures presence, every fish in the group suddenly turns towards the turtle. After a moment of observance, they all simultaneously swim for it, bombarding it.

You couldn't help but feel a little bad. But hey, better the turtle than you, right?

Rolling your eyes, you focus back on the surface. Light was streaming into the water weakly as the sun began to set on another day, bathing the ocean in a faint glow. The water was rippling calmly, not a single strong current flowing through. Without hesitance, you begin to swim upward, ready to break the surface.

Reaching the top, you slowly push your head above the water, taking in the sight. Far in front of you was the beach, and right behind it was what you came here for. The city.

This city, which is called New Orreins as far as you know, was a sight to behold. Along the beach was a series of cabanas housing visitors to the shore. A large pier ran for miles, allowing easy access to all parts of the beach. On the beach itself were a few stray umbrellas, which was common, seeing as the land ponies would often lay under them. At this time of day, however, the beach was quite barren. No pony would come out at this time of day. Perhaps its because the sun has already set, you weren't quite sure.

Far behind the beach is what fascinated you though. In the distance, a large, bustling city stood tall. Skyscrapers and other huge buildings covered the skyline, dwarfing everything around them. You had no idea just how many ponies buildings like those could house. It was something you had been curious about ever since you first observed this strange, foreign land.

A strange foreign land you wish you could visit.

You sigh lightly. If only, if only, you think to yourself. There wasn't much in the way of land travel with your body. With only fins and a tail for movement, you had a bit of a hard time maneuvering on land. For as long as you can remember, you've wished you could visit that land, just to see what it's like.

If only you weren't stuck in the ocean.

You pull your head back underwater and begin to swim closer to the shore. With the beach being entirely barren today, there was pretty much no chance of being spotted. You weren't too worried about that.

After swimming a short distance, you resurface. Looking back to the shore, you get a better inspection. The sand on the beach looked as though it hadn't been disturbed too much. Perhaps today was just a slower day for the beach. The pier was also barren. All of the stalls and shops set up on it were closed up. It was a bit depressing to you. You liked seeing the ponies go about their business on the beach.

You turn your head to the left. You gasp lightly at what you saw.

On a dock that was hanging over the water about fifty feet away was a unicorn. A purple unicorn. A mare, at that.

And....wow. She was just...wow.

Looking at her from the front, you get a full view of her face. Protruding from her head was a finely filed horn. Her short cut purple bangs hung lazily around it. Mixed in with those bangs was a few streaks of pink, which complemented the dominating color perfectly.

Her coat was also a shade of purple. Not as dark as her mane, but not exactly bright either. Her tail was practically the same as her mane. Her eyes were, big surprise, purple as well. For some reason, the entire color scheme of her body was just...alluring to you.

She wore a small smile on her face as she looked down. Though it's tough to see, you think you spot a book beneath her. She was simply laying on the dock, reading peacefully. A calm breeze flows through the area, causing her mane to jostle slightly. You can't find it in yourself to turn away for some reason. She was just so...

At that moment, she closes her eyes. Before you could wonder what she was doing, her horn lights up. Before your very eyes, the bags that were laying next to her begin to glow. You watch in awe as one of the bags opens itself and a small bottle levitates out. Following it was a small white straw, which planted itself in the top. Once it assembled, the bottle set itself next to the mare, and she begins to drink from it.

You're absolutely baffled at what just happened. Did she just do that? How in the world....was she some kind of wizard? You had never seen something like that before. In one moment, you had learned something major about those land ponies: apparently, some of them are wizards. This mare was...she was...

You couldn't find a word for it. Pretty? She was definitely pretty, no doubt about that. Magic? Well, if that act was anything sort of proof, she was unquestionably some kind of wizard. But there was something else...some other word.

You struggle to find a word. What was she?

Snapping out of your stupor, you suddenly find a word to describe her. Or multiple words, that is.

She is looking at you. With a very surprised and confused look on her face.

You cringe slightly, and duck your head back underwater. Your mind suddenly fills with questions. How long had she been staring at you!? Why didn't you go under sooner!? What was she thinking!? You mentally berate yourself for getting entranced by her. Why couldn't you move? You just had to stare, didn't you? What if she comes after you? Granted, that might be kind of cool, but...

You shake your head. What are you getting worked up over? You had been observing those land ponies for a long time. They were peaceful, they wouldn't come after someone like you. Not like they could, anyway, You never could identify some kind of system for breathing underwater on them. Heck, they had some technology to let them do that near the surface, but you've never seen them in the depths that you live in.

Still though, you could only imagine what was going through her mind there. Did she notice you're a seapony? What would she think? Did she realize you were staring at her? How long did she notice you? There were so many questions about that one tiny instance that you couldn't stop thinking of.

Swimming at high speed, you already see your home coming into view. Looking back, you see that no pony was following you...not that you were worried about that, of course.

You swim around front and enter the cave. Floating through, you enter the main room and find Swift just exiting the 'kitchen.'

"Oh, hey!" he says. "Just in time, dinner's ready...." He trails off as he looks at you. "Uh, you okay?"

You look right at him. "Yeah, fine. Why?"

"You look kinda...freaked out." he responds, uncertainty in his voice.

"Oh, no, I'm fine. Just kinda tired." you respond, taking a few subtle breaths to calm yourself.

He stares at you with an unsure look about his face. "Alright then...So you coming to eat?"

"Uh, nah. I think I'm gonna turn in, kinda tired and stuff." you respond quickly.

"You sure? Got some fresh seaweed, dude."

"Yeah, I'm sure, thanks." You begin to swim to your room.

You quickly enter the corridor before he can respond. Swimming over to the side, you press against the stone slab and slide it over the entrance, sealing off the outside. Once it was in place, you sigh lightly. Looking up, you bat the glowstalk again and re-illuminate the room. The moment you do, a small blob floats up from your bed and rushes over to you.

"Hey Linnaeus," you say. He squeaks, happy with your return.

You give a small smile. Even though he couldn't properly respond to anything you say, he always seemed to understand what you were feeling. He was kind of a living record for you. You told him pretty much everything about you, and he would give what comfort he could when you needed it.

"Linnaeus, you'll never guess what happened today." you start. He perks up, eager to hear your words. "I went to the surface again, and I saw somepony. This mare, and....wow."

He raises two of his tentacles and makes a noise. It sounded like he was confused.

"She was...really purple." You chuckle slightly. "Great description, I know. But she was so....pretty."

He squeaks again, prodding you to continue.

"She was just on the dock, reading a book. She looked so peaceful, just sitting there...I wonder what she was reading." you think aloud. You feel a sudden pang of guilt. "And she might've, uh, saw me..."

He squeaks loudly, and flails his tentacles wildly.

"I-It's not a problem, it's not like she knows! Don't worry, it's no big deal." you say, waving a fin. With that, you begin to float over to your bed. Laying down, you speak. "I wonder if I'll see her again..."

Linnaeus, still floating, squeaks angrily.

"Oh, come on, nothing bad could come out of this." ...I hope.

He makes an odd humming sort of sound.

"Relax Linnaeus. Let's just get some sleep, alright?"

He hesitates for a moment, but squeaks in agreement. Floating over to the glowstalk, he plants himself right on it, causing it to shut off. He liked sleeping on it for whatever reason, but you were fine by that. It caused it to stop glowing, anyway.

"Good night, Linnaeus." you say. He doesn't respond, already succumbing to the grip of sleep.

You give a small laugh. Closing your eyes, you lay your head down on the bed and drift off to sleep rather quickly.

That night, your dreams were filled with visions of violet...

Chapter Two

You watch the oyster drift away from your fins, only to realize you didn't even try to open it.

You shake your head again. For whatever reason, you were finding it unnecessarily difficult to keep yourself focused today. It was a bit jarring, really. You had never slacked off so heavily during your pearl-hunting.

Of course, you knew the reason why. It was all about that little, awkward encounter you had engaged in yesterday. It just refused to leave your mind, no matter how hard you tried to focus on the current task. A plethora of questions never ceased to swirl around in your brain.

What if she's wondering about you?

What is her name?

Was it a mistake to let her see you?

No matter how you went about clearing your mind, thoughts of her and your little stare-off with her never failed to reemerge. Though you welcomed the slight daydreams yesterday, it grew a bit annoying now, seeing as it was hindering your pearl finding.

You close your eyes and take a deep breath, letting the crisp ocean water flow through you. Filtering it through your system, you shake your head lightly once again and swim back to the ocean floor. Reaching the bottom, you lower a fin and scoop up another oyster. You begin the process of slowly loosening the oysters vice on its pearl.

As your fins do their duty, you idly let your mind wander. It was a rather serene day at the beach yesterday. Normally more ponies could be seen scampering around the docks at that hour. Not many ponies would lounge around on the beach, given the lack of sunlight, but you could still often see them running around on the docks. Mostly a few stragglers, but they were there nonetheless. You wonder why there wasn't more ponies besides that purple mare on the dock.

Just what was that mare doing there anyway? You had never seen her there before. Even with as frequently as you go to the surface, you were certain you had never seen her. Was she a tourist or something? No, if she had been, why would she be lazing about on a dock reading a book, rather than out on the town having fun?

Speaking of that, what was she reading? You hadn't gotten a very good look at the cover, so it was still a foreign title to you. Granted, you didn't know of many novels that the land ponies read, given that they don't function all too well underwater, but it still interested you to know what a mare like her would be interested in reading.

Perhaps it was something about that wizardry of hers. You were still baffled about that little trick she did. Are all ponies capable of doing things like that? You had never seen any ponies do anything similar to that. Maybe it was a specialty of the unicorn. Were all unicorns capable of magic in that way, or was this mare just special?

Well, she definitely was special. That sleek purple coat, those short cut bangs, those mesmerizing eyes...definitely the eyes. They were one of the key factors that prevented you from breaking your awkward gaze. There was just something about her that stuck in your brain like glue, and you couldn't shake it out. It was almost like-

Your thoughts are suddenly cut off as you feel a poke at your side. You look over to find Linnaeus pressing a stubby tentacle into your ribs. He tilts his body slightly, giving a curious gesture. Before you can respond, he points to your fins with a tentacle.

Looking back down, you find the oyster was no longer in your grasp, and was instead resting on the ocean floor again, completely undeterred by your 'prying.' You slap a fin across your muzzle and groan.

"Alright," you say, to no one in particular. "Forget it. I can't do this today."

Linnaeus seems a bit disheartened. You give him a sheepish smile, feeling a little bad. You didn't bring him with you yesterday, and on the day you do bring him, you decide to cut off the hunting early. You would have to make it up to him another day somehow.

You pat him on the bulb a few times in reassurance, but he just gives you his equivalent of a pout. You chuckle slightly, and beckon him with a fin to follow you back home.

Your pearl hunt didn't take you too far from home base today. Just a short swim west of the cave. You prefer to alternate the area you hunt in regularly, to allow some new oysters to make their way to the surface of the ocean floor. There were about six different areas you regular, but there were also a few special areas you only visited on occasion. These areas often resulted in the best finds, but only if given enough time to bear 'fruit.' You decide to give it a few more days before you visited one of them.

Within only a few minutes, you've already arrived back home. Just the same as you left it, of course. Not like you expected any sudden developments. Of course, with that one scenario involving a pesky pack of dolphins, you wouldn't be surprised if something like that had happened again.

Swimming inside, you find it to be unusually calm in the abode. You are put off a bit by the strange serenity. Normally Swift would be home by this time of day. Swimming throughout the cavern, you find it to be completely barren. He must still be out in the sea, doing whatever.

Shrugging it off, you figure he would be back in due time. Pulsing your tail again, you propel yourself into your own room. Not opting to seal off the room this time, you swim over to the opposite wall and lift your satchel over your head, placing it near the edge of your bed. Resting yourself onto your bed, you sigh lightly and wonder just what you could do.

Immediately, the idea of visiting the surface pops into your mind.

Was that a good idea though? What if she was there again? You were normally experienced enough to avoid being spotted by anyone, so it's not like that was your main concern. If anything, she was. If she were to be there, would she be purposefully looking for you? Given how engrossed she was in that book, that might not be the case. Still, you never know. You weren't an expert on those land-dwellers, after all. You only knew the bare basics.

It was a bit of a tough call. Go to the surface or wait it out for a bit? There really wasn't a huge amount of danger in going. It's not like if she was looking for you that she would really be able to do anything to you. Then again, she does have wizardry on her side. What if she could catch you with her magic? Would staying at home for the day be for the best?

Well, one thing is certain. Staying home would be boring as heck.

Eventually, you just decide to say 'screw it, why not?'

However, you can't leave right away. Last time you left without leaving any notice, Swift was breathing down your neck for the rest of the week. Lifting yourself off the bed, you exit your room. Passing through the main lobby, you swim into the kitchen area.

The kitchen room in itself was a bit more complex than the rest of the house, though still simplistic overall. Several specially crafted coral structures protruded from the walls, serving as shelves and holding food items. Near the wall was a large stone structure, giving a surface for easier preparation of meals. Small alcoves held utensils, ingredients, and other items.

Your focus, however, was fixated on the small, wooden chest in the corner. Swimming over to it, you lift up the lid and pull out a small pink conch shell from the pile. You give it a few taps and bring it up to your ear, listening closely. Not hearing any sort of sound being emitted from the object, you bring it to your mouth and speak.

"You weren't here when I got back. Going out for a bit, be back later." You keep it simple. No need to give him a speech or anything.

You tap the shell once more and bring it to your ear again. Listening in, you can hear your previous sentence being echoed to you. It was an odd concept to grasp when you were younger and you still don't right understand it. Speaking into empty conch shells can store the voice of the speaker. The only trouble is that it can never be removed, and the only way to erase the message is to destroy the shell itself. Other than that, it was a great relay system. A small bit of knowledge you gathered was that these messages don't carry themselves onto land. Apparently, the only thing that can be heard above water from these shells is the ocean itself, or so the land-dwellers say.

Satisfied with the message, you set the shell onto the counter to let Swift know of its presence. With that, you head for the exit, your destination in mind. You are still a tad nervous about this, with your previous surface outing still fresh in your mind, but still decided that it's better than sticking around here for who knows how long until Swift returned.

Reaching the entrance of the cave, you bid Linnaeus the usual farewell, and head out.

~*~*~

The ocean was unusually calm on the way to the surface today.

It only took you but a few minutes to reach the surface. The lack of wildlife on the way here was kind of strange, you admit. There were usually at least a few schools of fish swimming around up here. But today, it was incredibly serene. Almost eerily so. You shrugged it off as just being a low-traffic day, or no-traffic day in this case. At least it made reaching the surface a tad easier.

The orange sunlight lazily filters into the ocean water, giving a faded glow to the area. It was a sight you love, like the calm entrance to a new world. There aren't many ponies who could get as much joy out of this as you, you would bet. It's not like breaking the surface of the water was an unusual action for surface-dwellers. For you, it's a journey. The breaching of new, uncharted territory.

Granted, you visited the same place every time, but it was exciting nonetheless!

This time, however, you are still on edge a bit. Tiny bits of unease rest in your mind about having to run into that mare again. You manage to subdue them the entire way here, but now that the surface was right above your head, they start to come a bit more forcefully. You continue to push them from the forefront of your mind as you slowly approach the surface.

With only a sliver of hesitance, you slowly break the surface. Moving slowly as to not warrant any unnecessary attention, you swivel your body around until you are facing the shore. Once it is in sight, you find it to resemble the condition it was in yesterday. No ponies are trotting around the pier today and the beach is barren once again.

You feel both relieved and disappointed. On the one fin, you don't have to worry about any extra eyes in case you go looking for that purple mare again. No need to have any hindrances in case she may be lurking around. On the other fin, you don't get to observe any land ponies today. Isn't that the whole reason you come up here?

Either way, the beach doesn't house any life other than the occasional crab. Scanning your eyes across the dock, all the vendors of the usual snacks are all closed up. No pony would be buying those things they call 'funnel cakes' and 'cotton candy' today, it seems. You've always wanted to try those things. The land-dwellers go on and on about how sweet they are. There isn't much in the way of sweet food in the sea.

As your eyes pass over all the kiosks, your gaze eventually settles on the dock she resided on yesterday.

...or rather, resides on today. She's there!

Your head recoils slightly. Much like yesterday, she rests peacefully, her legs folded beneath her. Her gaze is fixated on the book at her knees. Her mane ruffles slightly in the calm breeze, yet her gaze remains undeterred. She occasionally flips the page with her snout, yet her eyes never leave the paper. She's got quite the focus, you give her that.

You submerge yourself beneath the surface once again and begin to swim forward. You realize this is a bit of a gamble, yet you continue to move through the chilly water. If your little encounter is still fresh on her mind, she might catch you. Still, you are a pretty damn good swimmer, if you do say so yourself. You aren't too worried about the consequences. Then again, perhaps that isn't why you're nervous.

You shake your head slightly to dispel the worry. Once you are a fair distance closer, you slowly reemerge from the water. You cautiously peek forward to the mare once more. It looks like she's too engrossed in her reading to notice you. You hope to keep it that way.

Just like yesterday, you can't help but be astounded by her. You've actually managed to close the distance more than yesterday, despite your worries. Her features are absolutely flawless. Not a single blemish or scar, and her mane doesn't have a hair out of place. Her coat does not change in hue at any point on her body. Though it might seem somewhat dull, it's actually rather beautiful to you. She is but one color, and she does that color perfectly.

Her eyelids move quickly as she blinks, as if she's trying to prevent obscuring her vision from the book for the shortest amount of time possible. She must be quite the avid reader, given her attention to the novel before her. Perhaps that's her special talent. Then again, the image on her flank doesn't really give a clear indication as to what that talent might be. You gathered that those things on their flanks represented their special abilities, or just whatever they were best at. What did they call those images again? Booty Marks? You can't remember.

As your eyes scan over her, you suddenly feel a bit concerned. Now that you're this close, you can't help but notice that she bears a small, awkward frown on her face. It almost looks like she was forcing her expression. Her brow is furrowed slightly and her reading almost seems a bit frantic. Is she nervous over something? Maybe there is something in her story that's getting her flustered. Whatever it is, you suddenly begin to feel a tad uncomfortable over it.

At that moment, her horn begins to glow again. This time, you keep your gaze steady. No way you're passing up an opportunity to see this! Once again, the bag next to her is enveloped in the reddish aura, and the flap raises on its own. A bottle floats out from within and sets itself in front of her, a straw following close behind. Once they've assembled themselves, she takes a calm sip from the beverage.

No matter how many times you see it with your own eyes, you can't help but be amazed. You've never seen any other unicorn pull something like that off. Maybe that's her special talent, being a wizard. Either way, it's something you found fascinating, and it only made you more curious about this mare.

And it looks like the same could be said of her, as she stares at you. Mouth agape, no less.

Without a second thought, you turn and begin to swiftly pull your head underwater.

"WAIT!"

...only to freeze in place.

Your eyes dart around and your mind begins to race. What should you do? Go under and ignore her plea, or turn and face her? It's already too late to escape unseen, but that doesn't mean the possibility of fleeing isn't there. Yet you feel compelled to at least say something, if only for the sake of manners. You have no idea how she would react to either action, but you can't help but feel the need to confront her. Would it be fair of you to run away without giving her a chance? Though it's what any creature in the wild would do, you're beyond such cowardice.

For whatever reason, the decision of facing her slowly overpowers your innate fear. You begin to turn, albeit very, VERY slowly. Keeping your eyes closed until you are facing her direction, you slowly open them, as if you were about to gaze upon a forbidden sight. For you, that isn't too far from the truth.

As your eyelids release their hold on your vision, you find the mare now standing. One of her forelimbs is stretched out to you, as if she were trying to physically withhold you from the ocean below. Her face is strained in an expression you struggle to describe. It looks like a mixture of fear, pleading, intrigue, and even a bit of despair. Her gaze is locked onto yours as you stare into each others eyes.

An odd feeling settles upon you. You had only ever seen her eyes sideways. Now that you're staring directly into them, you find a strange new depth to them. The pools of amethyst seems to deepen with each passing second and you struggled to find a bottom to them. The outside world seems to silence itself as you gaze into her eyes, feeling a fleeting sensation within yourself.

The only thing breaking yourself out of your trance is her. She retracts her outstretched forelimb slightly, and her eyes dart about. She seems to be searching for the right words to say. Then again, what do you say when you realize some random pony has been spying on you?

At last, she seems to find her words again.

"Wh...Who are you?"

Not what you were hoping to hear. Then again, what did you expect her to say?

Either way, you don't really know how to respond. Do you just flat-out tell her just what and who you are, or should you avoid it? It was a tough call. She probably has no idea that seaponies like you exist. On the other fin, she does read quite a bit. You wouldn't be surprised if there were books on your existence. Whether or not she believed them is another question.

Now that you've chosen to confront the mare, the option of answering her still overpowers the desire to flee.

"Uh, I'm just, uh, your average stallion, taking a swim!" Even you aren't convinced by your tone. Still, you decide to dodge the truth.

"But this beach is closed for today..." She responds, still holding a bit of intrigue in her face.

"O-Oh, uh, it is? Ha, my bad!" You respond in a very uncool manner. Why you're speaking like this is beyond you.

She seems to double-check herself before continuing. "But, I saw you out here yesterday at this same time..."

"O-Oh?" Crap. She does remember. Did you expect her not to? "Ha, guess I'm just bad with the time!"

Understandably, she doesn't seem to buy it. Her face scrunches up in confusion and she seems to be examining you. You hope she can't see your body beneath the surface of the water. Suddenly, she takes a rather strange look on her features, as one of her eyebrows raises.

"Well, why don't you, uh, come here? I mean, you have to get out, right?"

Crap. "Oh, I'm good, th-thank you!" Why are you stammering?

"Just one second!" She calls out.

She suddenly turns and heads back down the pier. For whatever reason, you stay put. Even though this is ample opportunity to turn and book it, you feel compelled to respect her wish. You watch as she descends a staircase onto the beach. She approaches the edge of the water. Once she reaches the brink of the beach, the water lazily flowing around her hooves, she reaches out to you.

"Come on!" She says, beckoning for the hoof you don't have.

"N-No, really, I'm good!" You respond shakily.

"But this beach is closed, you have to get out, right?" She replies cheerfully. Is she oblivious to your stature, or is she doing this on purpose?

Your options are few, but the few you have are radically different. Either turn tail and run, or approach her. Without even thinking, you know the consequences of both. Even with as harsh as the former might be, you really consider doing just that. There is nothing binding you to accepting her plea and approaching her. She's just some random mare. A rather pretty one, sure, but no one you know in particular. Why should you listen to her?

Maybe because of that tiny feeling in your gut telling you to?

Something in your chest wanted you to. Some tiny, indescribable urge to approach her. Is it out of fear of hurting her feelings? Is it out of desire to get closer to her? Is it out of respect for a lady? No matter what it is, it's steadily growing. Growing to the point where it's impossible to ignore it.

You begin to wave your fins, pushing yourself in her direction.

This is a stupid idea. You know this is stupid. Yet for some reason, you can't help but do it. Some tiny, unknown desire to fulfill this wish of hers.

Within moments, you've arrived at the edge of the beach. She's but a few feet in front of you, still offering her hoof with a gentle smile on her face. You were almost convinced that she really was oblivious to your being.

You feel a strong tension in your stomach. This is it. You are about to reveal yourself to a land-dweller. His voice echoes loudly in your mind, reminding you of all the warnings and restrictions about the very act you are about to perform. There is still the availability of turning back, but...you know you can't simply do that. Not now.

"Um...are you alright?"

You snap out of your stupor to find her giving you a concerned expression. You suddenly feel a good portion of your angst wash away at her caring gaze.

You let out a loud sigh. "...Guess there's no avoiding it now, huh?" You say quietly.

"What do you..."

Before she can finish, you close your eyes and calmly lift a fin above the water.

Though you can't see it, you definitely hear it. Her shocked gasp is testament to her surprise. Not like you expected her to be calm about this. You are only one of a very rare breed, after all.

Following her initial gasp is a long, unsettling silence. The only sound breaking the quiet is the ocean water washing up and down the shore and the occasional cry of a seagull. You don't sense any movement from the mare in front of you. You can only picture her expression in your mind. Eyes wide, mouth agape, head retracted. The quiet is almost painful. How long was she going to stand there? You pray for her to do something.

"Are you really a..." She starts.

"A seapony?" You finish for her. "Yeah..."

Another moment of silence. At least this time it was cut off quickly by an excited gasp from her.

"Oh my gosh..." You slowly pry your eyes to meet hers. In place of the fearful gaze you expected her to have, she was actually smiling. Very widely, at that. "This is incredible!"

"Huh?" You respond weakly.

"I always thought seaponies were just myth! I can't believe this! All of the reports I've read on seaponies were so inconclusive, I doubted their existence, but now I'm seeing one with my own eyes!" She begins to let out a spree of excited giggles which you can't help but find to be cute.

At least one thing was made clear. She knows what you are, at the very least. The fact you could help confirm that for her made you feel a bit at ease. That nagging voice in the back of your mind that sounded very much like him was still there. You try to suppress that voice as best as you could.

"This is so exciting! What is it like down there? What do you eat? Is it dangerous? Do you know other seaponies???"

You're suddenly being slammed with a barrage of questions at lightspeed. Eventually, you begin to lose track of everything she is saying as her words begin to fly at several thousand miles per hour. It all just blurs into a mish-mash of voice.

"Uh, ma'am?"

"Where do you live?"

"Uh, I-"

"Do you have some special methods for traveling?"

"I-"

"Is there some big seapony tribe!?"

"MA'AM!"

Only after you yell does she snap out of her interrogation. Blushing slightly, she begins to chuckle awkwardly.

"Ah, heh heh, sorry. I just kinda got, um...yeah." She says.

"It's alright," you reassure her. "I can understand."

"What do you mean?" She takes a confused look on her face.

"Well, this is my first time meeting a land-dweller, to be honest." You subconsciously rub the back of your neck with a fin.

"Oh my gosh, really?" She takes that excited look on her face again.

"Yeah, there's kinda this rule about that, actually."

"Huh?" There's that confused look again.

"Uh, it's a long story..." You fidget your fins slightly.

"Oh, I see. Oh!" She giggles quietly. "Silly me! My name is Twilight Sparkle!"

"The honor is mine, Ms. Sparkle." You extend a fin to her, which she meets with her hoof, albeit with a tiny smidge of reluctance. You don't blame her, to be honest.

"Please, Twilight is fine. And I'm the one who should be honored! I still can't believe this! I have so many things to ask you!" She still holds that ecstatic nature from her earlier interrogation.

"Heh, yeah, I noticed." You tease her.

She blushes a bit in response. "Oh, yeah, sorry about that. But really, it's not every day I get to meet a seapony!"

"I could say the same thing about land-dwellers."

"So, am I the first pony you've talked to?"

"Well, as far as land-dwellers go, yes. I've got quite few questions myself, actually."

"Oh?" Her face suddenly lights up like an angler-fish. It almost looks like she was waiting for you to ask that. "I'd love to tell you anything you want to know! But you have to answer my questions in return!"

"Deal. So, where to start..." You ponder it for a second, but a glimpse at her horn gives you an idea of what to ask first. "Tell me, what was that thing you did with your horn earlier?"

Her face scrunches up in confusion slightly before it dawns on her. "Oh, you mean my magic?"

"So you are a wizard! I knew it!" You exclaim without a second thought.

She laughs heartily at your statement, and you suddenly begin to feel a bit bashful. "N-No, I'm not a wizard! Magic is an innate ability of all unicorns!" She says through her chortles.

"Oh...heh, I just thought it was a special thing, or something..." You rub the back of your head again.

"Well, to be honest, magic is kind of my special talent. My forte, if you will. I practice it more than most unicorns do." She says proudly.

"Oh, so is that what your Booty Mark is?"

She suddenly clams up and her face goes beet red. Her eyes widen and she backs up ever so slightly. "...M-My what?"

"Your Booty Mark, you know, that...thing..." You point to the image on her flank with a fin, indicating your point.

She follows the fin to the object in question. Upon seeing the image, she begins to snicker. "Oh, you mean this?" She points to the image with a hoof.

"Yeah, it's called a Booty Mark...right?"

After only a split seconds worth of a pause, she suddenly bursts out into laughter. You suddenly feel like you just said something very stupid, and given her reaction, that is very likely the case. She falls onto her flank in her laughter, clenching her torso with her hooves. You have to admit, her laughter is very cute. You even find yourself chuckling nervously.

After a moment, she finally manages to calm down a bit. "N-No, i-it's called a C-Cutie Mark!"

And now it was your turn to blush. "OH, oh, I-I'm sorry, I didn't, uh..."

She giggles slightly as she speaks. "No, it's fine, don't worry! This is all new to you, right?"

"Well, for the most part, yeah. I know some of the bare basics, but none of the fine details..." You say with slightly warm cheeks.

She finally manages to subdue her giggles to the point where she can speak uninterrupted. "Well, now it's my turn. What is it like living down there, under the sea?"

You consider the question for a moment. Do you just flat-out tell her that you find it boring, or would she be disappointed by that? There really wasn't a whole lot to say. Then again, she might find it as fascinating as you find her world to be. Either way, there was one small detail you wanted to avoid telling her.

"Well, it's kind of...lonesome, to be honest. I don't really know any other seaponies." It wasn't a complete lie. Other than Swift, you really didn't know any others.

She suddenly looks a bit crestfallen. "Oh my goodness, really? You don't have any friends?"

"Heh, a bit blunt, but I guess you could say that." You chuckle bitterly.

She seems to realize the bluntness of her statement as she suddenly looks very apologetic. "Oh, I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that!"

You wave a fin dismissively. "It's fine, don't worry about it."

She doesn't seem to feel any more comfortable. "Still...is it really that lonely?"

"Well, I have my pet jellyfish, but other than him, I don't have any actual friends..." You lower your gaze from her. Just saying all of this begins to make you feel depressed. You've never told anyone anything like this, not even Linnaeus. Not only would it hurt his feelings, but you just never really brought it up either way. Getting this all out, even if it's to someone you barely know, it hurts you a bit to hear yourself say all of this.

"Oh my...I'm so sorry..." She takes on that crestfallen look again.

She seems quite distressed over this. You really didn't think much of it. It was just how you lived your entire life, in such a state of solitude. You never gave it too much thought. It would arise in the back of your mind every now and then, but you never thought a whole lot of it. Twilight seems to be rather upset by this fact, given her reaction.

"Well," she starts. "If it means anything, could...could I be your friend?"

"Huh?" Your bring your eyes back up to her. You find her giving you a small smile and offering a hoof.

She was serious. She was offering her friendship to you.

A friendship with forbidden ponies? You can only imagine his fury. This one tiny scenario, this entire encounter would have him writhing with anger. If he found out, he would yell at you, no doubt. He might even shun you. Banish you from the home.

Yet how could you possibly bring yourself to say no to those eyes?

"That would be...nice."

You lift a fin and meet her hoof. The contact is very gentle, but it sends and oddly warm feeling down your fin and into your chest. Perhaps this mare was more than just astute at magic. Something about her brought about this very comfortable feeling within you. Something you struggled to describe. Could it possibly be...

*BOOOOOooooonnnnggggggg.....*

You both jump at the sudden sound. Twilight immediately whips around to look back to the city. After a few seconds, the sound repeats.

*BOOOOOooooonnnnggggggg.....*

After a brief moment, it looks like she has a sudden epiphany.

"Oh my gosh, I'm late! Ohhh, I promised Rarity I would be there on time! Oh, no no no!" She says frantically.

"Twilight?" You ask cautiously.

"I'm really sorry, but I have to go! I promised I would meet with a friend!" She suddenly takes off down the beach towards the pier, sand kicking up behind her hooves as she runs.

You can't help but feel a bit saddened by her sudden departure. You don't hold it against her. She made a promise, and has to keep it. She must be a very honorable mare to make such a big deal over being slightly late to a meetup. After all, she-

"Will I, uh, see you again?"

You hear her voice coming from your side. Looking toward the voice, you find her calling down to you from the dock she was reading on.

"Um...yeah, tomorrow maybe? Here?" You reply hastily.

"Great! Great, uh, I'll see you then!"

With that, she takes off towards the city, berating herself for being late all the while.

You find your mind to be blank. That really just happened.

You spoke with a surface dweller.

THAT mare, no less.

And she actually considers you a friend.

That probably explains the stupid grin you're wearing on your face.

With a great amount of gusto, you flip yourself back into the ocean behind you. Swimming through the currents in a carefree manner, you can't help but cherish the warm feeling in your stomach. You feel greatly at ease, and you suddenly don't have a care in the world. It all stems from one, tiny fact.

She actually likes you.

As a friend, sure, but still. Twilight Sparkle likes you!

To think, this all might not have happened if you had decided to swim away...

Feeling as giddy as can be, you quickly swim for home. Within only a few minutes, you can already spot your cave coming into view. You don't even care if Swift is home or not, why should that ruin your mood? Swimming through the mouth of the cave, you casually drift into the main room. Almost as if on cue, the familiar head of a stallion pops out from the kitchen.

"Hey, you're home a bit later than usual." He starts off, sounding a tad apprehensive.

"Hi! Sorry, guess I lost track of the time." You reply coolly, keeping your demeanor intact.

"You seem awfully cheery today..." He says with a bit of suspicion in his voice.

"Really? Guess I just had a good day." You keep up with the simple responses.

"Uh huh...Anyway, you hungry?" He still sounds questionable, but he doesn't address it any further.

"Nah, I'm good. I think I'm gonna hit the coral, kinda tired."

"Alright then...night."

With that, you begin to swim to your room. He's still suspicious, you can tell that much, but you're not worried. It's not like it's hard to keep this a secret from him. He isn't too bright, you admit.

Passing through the main room, you enter your corridor and seal of the entrance. Turning around, you're greeted with a small blob assaulting your chest.

"Linnaeus!" You exclaim happily. He squeaks in response, clearly curious as to your strangely enthusiastic greeting.

"You'll never guess what happened today..."

Chapter Three

The approaching surface looks strangely inviting today.

After your little meeting with a certain purple mare yesterday, you could hardly contain your excitement. The only thing preventing you from giggling like a child was your brother, who seems to be increasingly suspicious. You've been able to keep him in the dark about this though.

As expected, pearl-hunting was incredibly slow today. You didn't really mind, however, as your mind was on other things. Just what would the two of you talk about? You had been considering things to tell her, but there really wasn't much to say on your part. Life under the sea just isn't so exciting in your eyes.

Considering her lack of gills, you figured that she might think much the opposite. That look of wonderment in her eyes when she first discovered that you are a seapony is testament to her intrigue. She might find your world to be incredible, something she would love to learn about.

...At least, you hope it would be. Lest she be bored to tears.

The surface is just above your head at this point. You take a few breaths in resolve. Though you made little outings like this on a regular basis, it felt a little different this time. The surface above just seems more...magical. The fine membrane between two radically different worlds. The gateway to a new existence. The only thing between you and her.

And now is the time to break it. You give a small wave of your tail, propelling you to the surface. You slowly push your head past the water above. Peeking your eyes open, you are greeted again with the sight you behold nearly everyday. The setting sun was bathing the city ahead of you in a faint orange glow. The beach is barren of any ponies, as you expected.

All except for one, that is.

Resting on the dock is the purple mare you met yesterday, Twilight Sparkle. Her familiar saddlebags lie at her side, their contents emptied about the pier. A small book lies open in front of her as she lay there, her eyes skimming left and right over their pages. The gentle breeze in the air rustles her mane gently as she reads.

You suddenly feel much more at peace just by observing her. She seems oblivious to your presence, but you don't mind. She is just far too beautiful to pass up an opportunity to simply admire like this. Her mane, her eyes, her coat, her everything. She is just pleasant to look at...or is that just plain creepy?

Either way, she seems to be enraptured by her novel. Much like the first day you saw her, she is entirely focused on that book. Would it be rude to interrupt her? Then again, would it be rude not to? You did promise to meet her after all. She might be offended if you were to bail on her now. Besides, do you really want to pass up an opportunity to be with her again?

Steeling your resolve, you begin to swim closer to the shoreline. Taking one last glance around the pier, you reassure yourself that no other ponies are in sight. After a brief moment, you find yourself staring up towards the outstretched dock. It looms over you, its wooden surface tainted with years of mossy buildup. Resting at the edge of the dock is the purple mare you came to meet.

Now to just get her attention...

"Hey, Twilight?" you call out quietly.

No response. Her eyes simply continue to skim over the pages of her book.

"Twilight?" you call out again, albeit louder this time.

Again, no response. She simply flips to the next page. Whatever that book is about, it must be quite interesting.

You begin to grow slightly annoyed. "TWILIGHT!" you yell.

She squeals in surprise as she jerks her head up. Looking around herself frantically in search of your intruding voice, she eventually brings her attention to the water beneath her. When her eyes meet yours, you give her a sheepish smile and wave a fin.

Her face lights up as soon as she sees you. "You’re here!" she exclaims excitedly.

You open your mouth to respond, but before you manage to get any words out, her horn begins to shine brightly. Immediately following the glow is a sudden burst of light which swallows her up. When the light fades, you find that she is suddenly gone from the pier. Before you can exclaim your surprise, she re-materializes right in front of you, a smile adorning her face. All of her belongings float down from the dock to her position shortly after.

You simply stare at her, mouth agape and eyes wide open. Her smile begins to fade as she examines your features, tilting her head to the left with a confused look. After a brief moment, her eyes widen and her face reddens. Folding her ears back, she begins to chuckle lightly.

"Oh! Heh heh, I forgot to mention," she starts. "I know a teleportation spell, by the way." She rubs her foreleg sheepishly.

You stare at her for a few more seconds in awe. Even more intently now that she is giving such a cute, innocent smile. If there is any creature on this planet that could possibly find that smile to not be cute then they certainly have no heart, you think to yourself.

"Wow," you start. "You weren't kidding when you said magic is your thing, huh?"

She giggles a bit. "No, no I wasn't! But it's all a learning process. There are still a lot of spells I'm still trying to master!"

"Well, if what I've seen is any indication, it seems to me like you are the mare who could do it!" you say encouragingly.

She gives you a cute smile in return. "Thank you! But to be honest, teleporting is a relatively easy spell, actually. Now body swapping? That is a challenge!"

"Body swapping?" you inquire.

"Yes, switching the minds of two beings so that they are in control of the other's body!" she exclaims. "I've been studying and working on it for awhile, and I'm getting there! Although, I've had a few...mishaps." She begins to rub a foreleg. "And now Fluttershy won't let me use her animals as test subjects anymore..."

You raise an eyebrow. "What happened?"

"Well..." she begins shakily. "Let's just say that their minds weren't the only things that got switched."

"Oh. Well then." you respond. You figured it would be better to not question.

As a short silence begins to fall between the two of you, you start to think of what to say. You've certainly got quite a few things you are curious about, and you are mostly sure that she is thinking the same.

But...where to start?

“I have so much to ask you!”

The two of you freeze after having just exclaimed the same question. At the same time no less.

She puts a hoof to her mouth and giggles. “Oh, well, why don’t we take turns asking then?” she offers.

“Heh, yeah,” you respond. “That’ll work!”

“Okay then! Would you like to start?” she asks.

You nod in response. You swim forward to close the distance a bit. As the sand beneath you begins to brush up against your belly, you slowly work your way closer to make the conversation a bit more comfortable for the both of you. Swimming forward until you nearly beach yourself, you shimmy a bit to get a little more comfortable in the sand around you. After a brief moment of wiggling, you finally manage to find a cozy position.

“Okay, hm...” You lift a fin to your chin in thought. It only takes a second before you come up with a question to ask. “Do you have any other friends?”

Her face lights up with your question. “Yes! I have plenty of friends! I know most everypony in town...” She purses her lips. “Well, I have a few really, really close friends...”

“And who would those be?” you ask, egging her to go on.

“Where to start...” she says, taking a moment to collect her thoughts. “Well, there’s Applejack! She’s one of the most dependable ponies I know! She runs Sweet Apple Acres, and is an expert in all things apple-related.”

“Apple?” you ask.

“Oh, that’s right...you’ve never had an apple, have you?” she asks. You shake your head. “I’ll have to bring you one some time then!”

“Heh, that’d be nice.” you reply.

“Next is Rainbow Dash. She’s a pegasus, and I’ll admit, she can be a bit of a hard-head sometimes. But she’s always there when you need a little encouragement! She’s also an amazing flyer, and dreams of joining the Wonderbolts someday!”

Your face lights up at her statement. “Hey, I actually know what those are! They’re that group of pegasi, right?”

She looks genuinely surprised. “Why, yes! How did you know?”

“I heard a few ponies talking about them one day. It’d be kinda nice to see them someday.” you admit.

She smiles in response. “Then there’s Rarity. She’s a unicorn, and she has a great eye for detail, especially when it comes to fashion. Although she is a bit of a drama queen sometimes...”

You recall her mentioning the name yesterday. You give her a nod, but speak no words, signalling for her to continue.

“And we have Fluttershy, of course. She takes care of everypony’s pets and has a special connection with all sorts of animals. She can be really shy and nervous a lot of the time, but you won’t find a girl sweeter than her.”

“Is that why she won’t let you touch her animals again?” you ask teasingly.

She pouts in response. “I said I’m working on it...”

You chuckle a bit at her response. You flick a fin towards her. “I’m just messing with you.”

She seems to disregard it and continues. “And of course, I can’t forget Pinkie Pie.” She rolls her eyes. “That pony...I don’t think ‘crazy’ is an adequate word for her. She is the one responsible for all of the best parties, but she can be a bit overzealous at times.”

“Would I be wrong if I were to guess that she is pink?” you ask.

She giggles a bit before speaking. “Not in the slightest. That pony is the very embodiment of pink!” She pauses a bit before continuing. “And I can’t forget Spike.”

“Spike?” you ask.

“Yes, he’s my number-one assistant! He is always there to lend a helping hand when I need it. I don’t think there is a dragon more faithful than him.”

“Wow, he sounds like a great- wait, what?” you exclaim. “Did you just say dragon?”

She goes into another fit of cute giggles. “Yes, he is a dragon. A baby dragon, mind you, but he is a dragon nonetheless!”

You stare at her in awe. “Aren’t dragons supposed to be, you know...dangerous?”

She gives you an earnest smile. “Well, many of them are, yes. But Spike is a real gentledrake. He would never hurt a fly! And to be honest, I don’t think he could if he tried!”

The two of you share a laugh at her statement. A few questions pop into your mind about how she went about obtaining a baby dragon, let alone how she managed to make it her assistant, but you decide to save those for another time.

“Well,” you start. “I may live at the bottom of the ocean, but even I know that that is a bit crazy!”

The corners of her mouth rise up into yet another smile. “Speaking of that, where exactly do you live? Or do you not have a permanent home?”

You chuckle a bit at the answer you were about to give. “I actually just live in a dinky little cave at the bottom of the ocean.” You redirect your gaze away from her, trying to think of something worth hearing. “I don’t move around too often, and when I do, it’s usually because something happened to the previous home.”

“Like what?” she asks, tilting her head to the side slightly.

“Well, let’s just say that a gang of lobsters wasn’t happy with my residence...” you say, trailing off.

“Oh my, you might have been in their migratory path. Lobsters aren’t the friendliest creatures to intruders, if I recall correctly.” she states.

“Well, I would daresay you do recall correctly.” you say, painful memories resurfacing in your mind. Those bruises seemed like they would never go away. You shiver at the thought.

She seems to catch onto your discomfort. “Oh, I’m sorry. I can’t imagine that must have been fun.”

“You don’t know the half of it...” You bring your gaze back to her. “Sorry for the boring answer. There just isn’t too much to say, to be honest.”

“You don’t have to apologize for anything. The fact that I get to talk to a seapony at all is just amazing!” she exclaims.

“I could say the same for you.” you add. You almost regret it the moment you say it, realizing how cheesy it was.

She doesn’t seem to mind, and only smiles at your response. “Your turn!”

“So, what is it that you do exactly?” you ask.

She puts a hoof to her chin in thought. “Well, I work as both a student and a librarian!”

“Librarian?” you ask.

“Yes. You know, somepony who-” she cuts herself off. “Oh, I-I’m sorry, you’re not familiar with most of these things, right?”

You give her a shrug. “Don’t worry, it’s no trouble. But no, I don’t know what a librarian is.”

“Well, a library is a place that sells and rents out all kinds of books. It’s my job to keep them in order and with my studies, I’m always getting new books from all around the world!”

“What kind of books, exactly?” you ask.

“Most of the scientific catalogs and other textbooks from schools and colleges. Princess Celestia sends me copies of all different sorts of books for my studies!” she says.

“Princess...Celestia?” you ask.

“Yes, the princess!” she says, beaming all the while. You simply give her a confused look, and the longer she sees you in your confusion, the more her face falls. “You do know who Princess Celestia is...right?”

You shake your head. “Well, no. I mean, I’ve heard the name, but I don’t know anything specific.”

Her face goes aghast at your confession. You swear you heard a slight gasp over the sound of the water around you. “You really don’t know?” she asks. You shake your head again in response.

With that, she takes a few steps closer and sits down on her haunches, just out of reach of the waters touch. She looks at you with excitement in her eyes.

“Princess Celestia is one of the rulers of Equestria!” she exclaims. She gestures to the sky with a hoof. “She controls the sun, raising it each day and lowering it each night!”

You can feel your eyes widen in surprise. “R-Really?”

“Yes!” she says, her smile widening even more. “She’s done so for thousands of years! She’s one of the most powerful beings in all of Equestria!”

“Wow...she seems to be quite the important pony, huh?” you ask.

“Yes, very!” she says, beaming all the while.

“Do you know her personally?”

“Yes! Er, no. I mean...kind of?” she starts nervously. “Well, I’m actually her protege, so to speak.”

You fail to fight the urge to blink in surprise. How is it that you managed to run into what is undoubtedly one of the most important ponies there is? “I, uh...wow...”

Her eyes widen a bit as she puts a hoof to her mouth. Gasping slightly, she reaches out to you. “Please, I don’t want you to be afraid of me or anything! I’m still just an average pony, just like everypony else!”

“Well, I’m not sure of that...” you say. For several reasons...

“Oh, please, I don’t want you to treat me any different than you would anypony else!” she says frantically. “To be honest, I really don’t like to tell anypony that I’m her student...I’ve scared off a lot of ponies that way...I don’t want you to be one of them.”

You look deeply into her eyes, taking note of the genuine fear in them. She isn’t simply saying it to appear humble, she is genuinely concerned. The fear in her eyes is, if anything, a testament to her concern. What could have happened to make her so afraid of telling you such a thing?

Maybe she really had scared off a lot of ponies that way. It’s not everyday you get to meet the personal protege to the princess of all the land. It would be a bit daunting to anypony. Is she technically considered royalty in that sense? Either way, you can only imagine how bad it could make somepony feel, knowing that their position can scare off those around them.

Or...can you only imagine it?

“Twilight...” you start. “I’m not about to run away from you, even over something like that.” Her eyes widen a bit at your words, but she says nothing. “Truthfully, I was expecting you to run away from me when you saw me yesterday.”

“Huh?” she says. “Why in Equestria would I do that?”

“For the same reason you think I would run; that you would be afraid of what I am.” Her mouth goes agape. “The only difference that I see is that I can’t hide what I am. The fact that you are so humble about something that, I assume, is so prestigious, well...I think it’s kind of admirable, to be honest.”

During the brief period of silence, she stares into your eyes. Gaze darts back and forth between your eyes repeatedly, seeming indecisive of which one they wish to look into. The only sound breaking the quiet is the water sifting around you. After a moment of staring, a wide smile begins to slowly form on her face. You swear you could see her eyelids quiver for a split second.

“Thank you...” she whispers.

You give her a genuine smile in return. “I think that was a good answer to my question. Your turn, yes?”

She gives you another smile before her eyes drift to the side. Her head quickly follows their motion as she stares into the distance. You watch her smile fade as she stares, her face taking on a more crestfallen look.

You follow her gaze, being forced to squint as your vision falls upon the setting sun, which bathes the waters surface in a lovely shade of orange. It looks like Princess Celestia is retiring for the day, you muse. How long have you been here? It only felt like a few minutes at most.

You bring your attention back to Twilight to find her still staring into the distance, her face accented by the sun’s glow. The contrast of her lavender coat to the sun’s citrus rays makes her shine in a fashion that is all her own.

“Oh my,” she starts. “I didn’t realize it was this late...”

“Yeah,” you agree. “Time really flies, huh?”

She nods in response. “I’ll need to get going soon...I have somewhere to be.”

You give her a reassuring nod. “I understand. If you’re busy, you’re busy, right?”

She brings her attention back to you with a smile on her face. Her smile quickly fades and is replaced with a rather awkward frown. “Um...before I go, could I ask you one last thing?”

“Of course!” you say reassuringly.

She nervously shifts her gaze away from your eyes for a moment. You notice her rubbing a foreleg with her hoof. Watching her eyes dart around slightly, you begin to worry about what question she’s conjuring up behind those violet eyes.

“Well,” she starts shakily. “I was wondering if I could...” she pauses, her eyes darting around a bit more frantically. “If I could see you?”

“Huh?” you say confusedly.

“I mean, could I see, um...y-your body?”

You can’t prevent your breath from hitching. Did she really just ask that? If her pink cheeks are any sort of giveaway, it looks like you didn’t just hear her incorrectly.

“Um...pardon?” It doesn’t hurt to make sure, though.

“I asked if I could see you. Your form, I mean.” she asks. Her eyes widen a bit. “F-For science, that is!”

Well, you didn’t mishear her. She wants to see you. In your entirety. This would certainly be a first for you. To finally reveal yourself to a land-dweller? Your entire self, that is? How much more taboo can you get? You can’t even imagine his fury should he find out.

Huh...that’s odd. What’s this warmness in your cheeks?

“Well, I, uh...” you stammer.

“I-I can understand if you don’t want to,” she admits. “It is a bit of a...weird request. I just wanted to see what you l-look like...”

You stare at her in confusion for a moment. She’s right about one thing: it is a weird request. No one has ever asked to see you. Then again, you’ve never actually spoken to anyone outside of Swift.

Though you are uncertain about this, you consider her request. Would it really be fair to deny her of this? You’ve seen more than enough demonstrations of her and her talents. Wouldn’t it only be fair to do the same for her? Granted, it’s still an odd thing to consider, but is there truly any harm in allowing her such a request?

After all, she said it’s just for science...right?

“Okay.” you concede.

“Huh?” she asks, puzzled.

“You can s-see me, if you want.” you assure her. Her eyes light up at your agreement. “Though I can’t really get out of the water...”

She gives you a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry! I’ve got it covered!” She then takes a quick look around the immediate area, scanning for any wandering eyes. With no one in sight, she then brings her attention back to you.

You begin to open your mouth to respond, but your words catch in your throat as your body is enveloped in a tingling sensation. Your vision darkens in a shade of purple as the feeling all around your body intensifies. Through the purple haze, you can see Twilight’s horn glowing in its familiar aura and her eyes are squeezed shut. A strange sensation begins to course through you. It almost feels as though you are becoming weightless.

Looking down, you realize that may not be far from the truth. You find your body is slowly rising away from the water you once rested in. You turn your head in all directions to find yourself floating higher and higher by the second. Even with all of your fidgeting, Twilight’s concentration doesn’t falter in the slightest.

The tingling doesn’t let up as the last bit of your tailfin exits the water. Once you are fully out of the liquid, the rising ceases and you are left to hover in midair. Tiny droplets of water fall off of your body as the sunlight reflects off of your soaked scales. The glow of Twilight’s horn subdues slightly, yet continues to cast a small amount of light.

As it continues to shine, she finally opens her eyes. Upon seeing your revealed form, she gasps.

“Oh my...” she utters.

You remain silent, still fairly uneasy at your sudden levitation. Your tail sways involuntarily as you hover. You watch as she gazes upon you with an unrivaled sense of wonderment in her eyes.

Her eyes linger over your entire body, taking in every little detail. Your flicking tail, your waving fins, the scales along the majority of your body, everything. Her mouth falls agape at the otherworldly being before her. You can only imagine what thoughts are lingering behind those wide, violet eyes.

Without warning, you begin to spin to your right. You glance around nervously with your new inertia. As you spin, her eyes continue to scan over you. As your back faces her, you hear her gasp again. No doubt it was sparked by the spines running along your, er, spine.

You continue spinning until you come to face her once again. Once she is back in your field of vision, you find her to be much closer to you. So much so that her hooves are within the reach of the water beneath you.

You watch as she slowly begins to lift a hoof toward you. Your eyes widen as she draws ever closer. Just before her hoof comes in contact with you, she freezes in place, taking note of your expression.

She quickly retracts her hoof as her cheeks flush and her ears fold back. “I-I’m sorry...d-do you mind if I...?”

Despite how awkward this should be, you can’t find it in yourself to say no to those eyes. “G-Go ahead...”

She gives you a sheepish smile in return. Bringing her gaze back to your form, she slowly reaches her hoof out again. With your approval in check, she carefully touches your side. Her touch is gentle beyond compare. Her hoof brings about an odd warmth in your flesh.

Running her hoof down, she brings her contact to your tail fin. She lightly touches the bristles that make up the appendage, briskly running her hoof over the surface. You watch as she brings her attention up to the fin on your side. She gracefully runs her hoof over the webbing, taking in the slick exterior of the fin.

You were half-expecting her to be grossed out by the feeling, yet she isn’t. Her eyes never seem to blink, trying to avoid losing focus on you for even a split second. Her hoof slowly trails around your body, taking in the sensation of the scales adorning your skin and gracing you with a sensation of your own. It is...an odd sensation, to say the least.

Just when it seemed like it would never end, she finally retracts her hoof from you. You feel yourself being lowered by her magic, the water beneath you gradually enveloping you once more. After just a brief moment, you find yourself submerged again.

Once you regain your bearings, you look up to the mare in front of you again. You find her with a genuine smile, one unlike any you had ever seen before.

“Thank you.”

You give her an honest smile. “No. Thank you.”

Her smile widens even more. You can’t help but do the same.

Before another silence can fall between you two, a familiar sound rings in your ears.

*BOOOOOooooonnnnggggggg.....*

The smile on her face quickly fades at the sound. You can’t help but do the same.

“I...I need to go.” she says, crestfallen. “I’m sorry...”

You give her another smile. “I understand. Don’t worry about it.”

She returns your smile with one of her own. “So...tomorrow? Here?”

“Of course.” you offer.

“So...I guess I’ll see you? See you then?”

“Yeah, of course!”

“Okay then, great!”

“Great!”

And then the silence returns full force. Though this time, it isn’t so unwelcome. It almost feels complementary to the position you are in. Staring deeply into her eyes as she does the same. An odd feeling passes through you. It feels as though you have some sort of link to this mare. You could almost see a strange connection forming between your eyes.

Sadly, it comes to an end far sooner than you would like as she begins to back away. “So...I guess this is goodbye...”

“Yeah,” you respond despondently. “I’ll see you tomorrow...”

With one last smile and a great deal of hesitance, she finally begins to trot away. Her eyes linger on you up until the moment she steps out of sight.

As much as you would love to see her for a moment longer, you remember that you are trying to keep things discreet. You wiggle your way out of the sand and back into the water. Turning around within the now warming waters, you begin to make your way home. As you swim, a school of fish passes by. The fish within the school consist of every color in the rainbow.

For some reason, the fish that are purple seem the most alluring to you...

~*~*~

He didn’t know when he would be back. He had been gone for hours.

Still, that didn’t stop him from waiting. He sat there, all day. It’s not like the other had any idea he would be here.

He had been sitting here, nonstop, for so long. Long to the point where he was about to give in. There was no way he would be coming back anytime soon.

He sighs, feeling exhausted of waiting. What’s the point? He isn’t going to be here, he’s just-

No, wait. Is that...yes, that’s him. Coming straight from where he left towards.

He watches him swim back. That smile on his face...it seems quite uncharacteristic of him.

Uh huh, he thinks. Real nice...

He has no idea. No idea of the eyes that are upon him, or the fact that his secret isn’t so secret anymore.

Author's Note

IT'S DONE
FINALLY
HAPPY!?
Thanks to Whirring Gears and Shining Glory for the proofing/editing/making this suck less-ing!

Chapter Four: Section One

"This is weird, Twilight..."

"Don't worry, I promise you'll like it!"

"Are you sure? It looks kinda...slick."

"Oh, come on! It won't bite! Just press your tongue into it!"

"Well...alright..."

Though uncertainty runs through your mind, you slowly lean your head forward. The surface before you glistens in the light of the setting sun with a distinct moisture. It certainly has a nice scent wafting from it, yet you are still a bit skeptical. As the pink texture of the object before you grows nearer, you begin to protrude your tongue for an experimental lick. The closer your tongue draws to the surface, the more noticeable the temperature emanating from the object becomes.

And then your tongue makes contact. It is certainly sweet, yet at the same time, it's very...

"Woah, that's colder than I expected it to be."

Twilight giggles. "Well of course it is! It's called strawberry ice cream for a reason, silly!"

"Oh...right," you say with a red face.

Twilight continues to giggle sweetly at your revelation. As her short chuckles escape her mouth, you can't help but laugh along with her.

The days seemed to fly by as you visited with Twilight each evening. Each time the two of you would discuss a different aspect of your lives. Most of the time, it ended up with you reveling at her life on the surface. She always spoke of the crazy adventures she had with her friends. The one that stood out to you the most was her quest to stop some crazed draconequus from terrorizing the land. That guy sounded like a riot when she explained him to you!

And every time the two of you talked, you always felt a bit bad. You didn't have any amazing tales to tell her. All you could describe was some of the scenery and life beneath the waves. You always felt like your "stories" paled in comparison to hers. Even then, she never batted an eyelash when you spoke and always gave you her fullest attention. Every time you spoke of your life down there, her eyes would always widen with excitement. Not that you minded. It just let you see more of those gorgeous eyes of hers.

With each passing day, you began to find it easier to converse with her and you hope she feels the same. She began to open up even more, probably finally coming to terms with the sensation of being able to speak with a seapony. You no longer felt uneasy about the whole situation of speaking with a surface-dweller and were glad you finally got to speak to one, let alone a pony as amazing as her.

It's been about a week since the two of you met, yet it seems like it was just yesterday. The time you two spent together flew by way too fast, but you still cherished every single evening. Every story shared, every secret told, every meal she brought for the two of you, you couldn't feel happier about the friendship the two of you shared.

Speaking of friendships, you loved it when she talked about her friends. She often described them as being some of the best friends a pony could ask for, and from the stories she has told you, it certainly doesn't seem far from the truth.

"So," you say as you take another lick of the ice cream levitating in front of you. "What were you saying about Pinkie Pie earlier?"

"Oh, right!" she starts. "Well, she was babysitting for Mr. and Mrs. Cake that day. I went over to Sugar Cube Corner to pick up a box of donuts for Spike, and when I got there, both of the babies were completely covered in flour and Pinkie was stuck to the wall with caramel!"

"PFFFffft-wha-ha-hat?" you say, hardly containing your laughter. "How does that even happen?"

Twilight cups her mouth with a hoof, trying to cease her own laughter. "I don't even know! It's like I said yesterday, remember?"

"When it's Pinkie Pie, abandon all logic." the two of you say in unison, eliciting another round of laughs from the both of you.

"After I walked in on that, I had to help pry her off the wall and get her and the twins cleaned up." She gives a shake of her head, a small smile adorned on her face. "I thought we'd never get it all out of her mane..."

"Oh dear," you respond. "I bet that was a hassle."

"You don't know the half of it..." she continues. "Ah, but still, she's a great friend. She always knows how to put a smile on your face, no matter how you're feeling."

"Heh, yeah." You take another lick. This stuff is actually pretty good. "She does sound like a very nice pony."

Twilight giggles a bit more. "She can have her moments, though. I just wonder how everypony is holding up in...Ponyville..." she trails off slowly.

"Something wrong?" you inquire.

Rather than respond right away, she looks off into the sun as it slowly descends out of view. The calm shifting of the waves and the creaking of the pier above are the only sounds breaking the silence for the next few moments. Twilight's face slowly drops as she lets out a wistful sigh. "I...I actually have something I need to tell you."

A cold rock forms in your gut. Something about the way she says that just doesn't sit right with you. "Uh...what is it?" you ask cautiously.

Her eyes drop to the sand below her. "I...I'm leaving tomorrow."

You freeze up. Did...Did she just say that? "I-I'm sorry?"

Without warning, she throws her hooves up and onto her head. The ice cream she holds in her magical grip drops to the ground unceremoniously. "Ooohh, I should have told you sooner!"

"Wait, woah woah, calm down Twilight!" You wave your fins in an attempt to catch her attention again. "Please, I don't think I quite understand! What do you mean 'leaving?'"

"I was only here for Rarity! She had a fashion line she had to exhibit here, in New Orreins!" She waves a hoof to the city behind her before continuing. "The show is over now, so we're heading back to Ponyville tomorrow..." She drops her head once more, almost to the point where her horn is touching the beach. "I...I'm so sorry...I should have told you sooner..."

One friend. That's it. All you've ever had in your life is one friend. That's all you've ever wanted. One real friend. You had finally made that friend. A true, honest, real-to-the-core friend. And now, she's leaving. You can't seem to focus your eyes on anything for a few seconds. The waves around you seem to halt as the realization dawns on you.

Twilight Sparkle is leaving.

Twilight Sparkle. The beautiful, purple mare you had first laid eyes on but one week ago. The one pony you had shared your true thoughts with. And now, she will be gone.

"Does that mean..." you start nervously. "We won't see each other again?"

She responds with a despondent stare.

"But...i-isn't there anything we can do?" you ask defiantly.

"I'm sorry," she utters. "I just...I have so many things in Ponyville. I can't just simply stay here with you. All of my friends, the library, my studies, I have so many things waiting back at home, I..." she drops her gaze once more, her eyes now on the verge of tears. "I'm so sorry...I should have told you sooner..."

The more she speaks, the more your heart falls. You don't want to push, but you aren't sure if it would even do any good. Twilight can't stay here. Her priorities in Ponyville are far too great for her to just give them up. It would be unfair of you to ask such a thing of her anyway.

That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt, however. You wiggle your fins on your sides idly as you continue to think. You wonder what thoughts might be flying around beneath that mane of hers. Her eyes stay focused on the sand for the next few minutes as neither of you speak. You're almost certain that she is just as lost as you are.

However...that makes you feel happy, in a strange way. If she is truly this upset over her departure, that must mean something. Something about the friendship you share. Even if you've only known one another for a week, she is still depressed by your separation. Does that mean that she holds your acquaintance that close to her heart? Does this situation really strike that hard for her?

"I..." she starts again. "I know we've only known each other for about a week, but...it still hurts having to leave a f-friend..."

You open your mouth to respond, but no words manage to leave your throat. Instead, you just respond with a nod. What words are there to be said anyway?

You watch as Twilight slowly reaches out a hoof. She doesn't slow down at all as her hoof approaches your chest. Your breath hitches in your throat for just a split second as her hoof makes contact with your chest. You don't protest, however. It isn't like she's hurting you.

Just a gentle touch. Her hoof trails across your flesh slowly, taking in the texture of it. Each individual scale tingles as her hoof moves. This is the first time there has been any physical contact between you two since she examined you nearly a week ago. Just like before, her touch is as gentle as can be.

You let out a sigh through your nose and close your eyes. The last moment the two of you would share is happening right now. A pitiful feeling forms in your body, knowing that it will all be over soon...

Twilight's touch grows a little more firm.

"Wait..." she quietly utters.

You feel another hoof press against your chest, albeit with a bit more force this time.

"Wait." she says firmly.

Your eyes open on their own as her hooves move upward and onto your cheeks.

"Wait!" she nearly yells.

Her hooves suddenly begin to examine every portion of your head. She gently prods your ears, one at a time. She delicately presses into your snout. She meekly caresses your jawline. She carefully runs her hooves through your mane. Each of her touches goes without objection. With that excitement in her eyes, you aren't sure if she would even notice (or care) if you said no.

As she feels all of your features, her mouth hangs slightly open. Her eyes never seem to blink, as though she doesn't want to miss a single detail. It's almost as if her life hangs on this sole act of examining your facial features. Her vision darts to and fro, covering every portion of your face with an intensity that could put even Linnaeus' fiercest "gaze" to shame.

"I wonder if that..." she mutters under her breath. After a few more gentle pokes and prods on your face, she retracts her hooves. "I wonder if that would work..."

"What would work?" you inquire.

She shakes her head and looks into your eyes, like she's just come back to reality. "I, I was just thinking." She pulls herself back up before continuing, a peculiar look adorned on her face. "I...might know of a way we can fix this."

"What do you mean?"

"Well," she begins. "There's a spell I know of. A transformation spell."

"Transformation...?" you ask, your voice lingering on the last syllable.

"Yes, a transformation. My memory on it is a little hazy. I only briefly skimmed over it a long time ago. If I recall correctly, it can change a pony into something different, like turning an earth pony into a pegasus!" Her face slowly begins to light up as she speaks. The thought is funny to entertain, that talk of magic can make Twilight happy like nothing else.

"So, you're saying..." you ask, uncertain of what she might be implying.

"If I can get that spell right, maybe, just maybe..." She pauses for a moment, searching for the best way to put it. "...Maybe you could come to Ponyville? With me?"

You feel your eyes widen on their own. The prospect of not only Twilight offering you a chance to accompany her to her hometown, but a chance at finally escaping your dreary life here in the deep blue sea? An opportunity to join the sweet mare who you see as your only real friend in her world? You would have to be insane to turn down such an offer.

And yet, something in the back of your mind makes you hesitate. The teeniest, tiniest voice in your head, telling you to not jump to any brash decisions.

"I...I don't know." you respond slowly.

"Huh?" she says, a quizzical look adorned on her face. "But, why?"

"I just, I'm not sure. This is all really sudden..."

"It has to be sudden. I'm leaving tomorrow, remember?" she says. You pick up a slight hint of desperation in her voice.

"I-I know, but...It's just, well, that's a pretty big change to jump into so suddenly, don't you think?" you respond.

She directs her eyes to the sand beneath her, pondering the situation a bit more. You wait in silence, wondering what the gears behind her violet eyes are churning up. Her eyes flick around as the corners of her mouth slowly push outward, widening her half-frown.

After a moment of thought, she speaks up again. "I admit, it is a lot to ask of you, to leave your life here behind." She stands up again, lifting a forehoof. "But if I'm not mistaken, isn't your life here kind of, well..."

"Dull?" you finish for her. Her ears fold down, but she nods nonetheless. You let out a quiet sigh. "It is, yeah, but this is still my...home."

The last word leaves an unfamiliar itch as it leaves your throat. Considering you have never really had a permanent home in your whole life, it's hard to say that that statement is accurate. Just what, other than your physical form, binds you to this sea? One particularly troublesome sibling, as far as you know. Other than that, the opportunity of a lifetime is standing right before you. Would it really be unfair to him if you took that chance?

Would it even really matter?

A hum from Twilight brings your attention back to her. You look back to her to find a pondering look on her face and a hoof at her chin.

"Well...How about I give you some time to think it over? I'm not entirely familiar with the spell anyway, so I'd like to see if the library in this town has any information on it." She lowers her hoof and looks right into your eyes. The mixture of emotions within them is confusing, to say the least. "What do you think?"

You open your mouth hesitantly a few times without speaking. Unable to find the words, you opt for a simple nod in response.

The corners of her mouth turn up into a smile. "Okay! If, uh...if you do want to go through with it, meet me here tomorrow morning. Early morning. The train leaves no later than seven AM, so we'll have to do the spell long before that, just in case I can't get it right the first time."

You face adorns a confused look. "Uh, Twilight? What and when is 'seven ay ehm?'"

She cocks an eyebrow. "You know, seven in the morn...oh!" Her cheeks turn red as she giggles lightly. "I keep forgetting that you aren't familiar with our time! Um..." She looks around a bit, seemingly searching for something. Her eyes settle on the setting sun to the side, her face lighting up in inspiration. "Just be here as the sun is rising!"

You cast your gaze to the sun, its orange rays painting the ocean's surface gold. As you look at it, the deadline for your choice suddenly feels all the closer. Make the decision before it rears its beauty once more, or it will be decided for you, no ifs, ands, or buts.

You breathe out a sigh through your nose. "...Okay. I'll be here."

With a smile on her face, she casts one last wayward glance to the sun. Her expression sinks a tad as she does so. "It's getting late. I need to get to the library before they close, not to mention Rarity is probably starting to worry..."

You give a nod. "I understand."

Nodding in return, she gets to her hooves. Her horn glows its illustrious shade of magenta as her bags levitate onto her back. Once her belongings are in place, she looks to you. She briefly opens her mouth to speak, but no words manage to find their way out. She instead opts to simply lift a hoof to you, beckoning for your fin.

"See you tomorrow...?" she asks.

You give an earnest smile and return the gesture with a fin, gracing her hoof with your touch. "Yes."

With a smile and one last stroke of her hoof on your fin, she turns around. She slowly begins to depart before turning one more time, exposing her smile to you again. Just before she turns back, a different expression flashes across her face. Before you can make it out however, she's already turned and is now heading to the ramp back up to the dock.

You watch her walk away, up until the point where she is entirely out of view. As she vanishes from your line of sight, you feel a small tugging in the center of your chest. It is very gentle, and only lasts for a split second. Even then, that split second was certainly uncomfortable.

Letting out another sigh, you begin to wiggle your way out of the sand and back into the water. After a bit of struggling, you manage to pull the entirety of yourself back into the ocean. A small dose of hesitance lurks in your mind as you turn and begin to swim back to your cave.

You've got some thinking to do...

Author's Note

Wait, what? This story still exists?

Yeah, it's not dead. I'M not dead. Sorry for the stupidly long delay on this either way, though.

You might be wondering why this is fairly short compared to the previous chapters. I've been fussing over how to go about making this one. In short, this chapter isn't exactly done. It will be comprised of three sections total, but should all still be considered to happen within the same time span. I just wanted to get one posted so you guys could have SOMETHING to pick up on with this story. Y'know, before it hits its one year anniversary.

I also chose to do it this way because I wanted a bit more time to plan out and prepare the second part. I've got the third part pretty much nailed down at this point, but the second one is a little more...ambiguous than that. Such that I wanted some more time to get it just right.

Again, I'm sorry for this delay, but I believe it will benefit the experience in the end. Once the second section of this chapter is done, the third section should be a cakewalk.

Once I've posted all three sections, I'd like to get an opinion from you guys about whether I should merge them into a single Chapter Four or just leave the sections as is, so keep that in mind once you've finished them all.

Okay, these notes are starting to get too long. Have some dancing Peacock. Not the animal.

Cheers,
~Kody910