Tide was munching on a bowl of jello when his family turned up at Friendship U. Looking up, he was unsure how to feel as he saw his older sister, her head hanging low.

"Want us to give you some space Tide?" Gallus asked.

"Thanks, please." He answered. "Family stuff." The six students then picked up their food, and moved to the next table over. As they sat down, Tide began. "Sorry for running off like that again."

"Keep that up and I might actually ground you young stallion." Marina grumbled.

"So, how's your friend?" Redwood asked as he sat on the bench.

"He's fine. Resting right now." Tide said, taking another bite of his jello.

"You mean like you should be?!" His mother grumbled.

"Now hon-" Redwood began.

"No. Tide, you were impaled two days ago! The doctors spent five hours closing your barrel up! Your stomach,liver and kidneys were all cut! You're lucky it wasn't worse!" Marina all but yelled, tears welling up in her eyes. "Even your sister was distraught!" River Delta in response, shrunk away just a little.

Tide sat in quiet contemplation, quickly realizing that she was right(as moms often are). Wincing in pain, he turned to look at his sister. However she wasn't in her seat. That was when he felt a pair of hooves and wings wrap around him. he chest felt like it was hyperventilating, but the irregular pattern told him she was crying.

"I'm s-so sorry baby bro-other! I... I messed u-up so big... It's my fault this all h-happened, and b-because of me you got hurt!" She balled. Tide was unsure how to feel. She hadn't acted this way since he twisted his hoof playing ball with her ages ago. Gently pushing her off of him, he looked into her eyes.

"Sis... I... I want to be mad... but..." he began.

"And you have EVERY right to be mad at me." Delta whimpered.

"I'm gonna need some help for a little while. With my friend. Can you do that?" Tide asked. His sister nodded eagerly. Suddenly, a stallion in hospital garb walked through the doors into the lunch room, flanked by a light blue unicorn mare, who pointed directly at Tide.

"There you are young stallion! I don't think I need to tell you how severe your injuries were?" He began as he approached the young Earth Pony. "Sit up straight for me." He ordered. The doctor then proceeded to go through checking the colt's breathing, temperature, blood pressure, and even the stitches, which would undoubtedly leave a scar.

As the doctor undid the bandages, he noticed that while normally, that kind of wound would be healed in a minimum of eight weeks, this colt was at the third week phase of healing, and he was stitched up just two days before!

"Remarkable... how is it your healing so quickly? I need a blood sample if you please." The doctor said calmly. "And I'd like to keep you for observation. I want to check that wounds progression."

"Sure thing doc... Sis?" Tide asked, his sister perking up. "His name is Levi. Be patient with him. He's still skittish, and very on edge. Just... please?" He asked, before following the doctor out, flanked by their mother.

It was then that a loud crashing noise was heard, followed by a bellow of "It's for SCIENCE!" Before quieting.

"What was that about?" Silverstream asked no-one in particular.

"Probably that marine biologist Twilight asked to visit." Ocellus offered.

River Delta looked to her family, silently asking permission to do as her brother asked. With a gentle nod, she stood up, and moved to the table the students who helped her brother went.

"Where can I get a notepad and quill?" She asked. The seven adolescent creatures all gave her a smile.

~~~~***~~~~

"Okay, Tide. Hold out your right fore hoof please." The doctor asked. Tide, not wanting to raise a fuss did so without question, and the needle found it's mark. A small vial quickly filled with his blood, then, another. "Okay young stallion. Normally I'd let you go with how that wound looks, but it's only 2 days old; and it looks like it's been healing for nearly a month. And I KNOW I never gave you a healing potion." At this, Tide looked confused. He had heard about healing potions, but never really looked into them.

"Why?" he asked simply.

"Because they're so darned expensive. Most ingredients for them are as cheap as roses in the market. But one ingredient has to be synthesized, and that's an expensive process." He explained. "I don't know what the original ingredient was, but when it's supply ran out, ponies began to find out how to make a synthetic version. As a result, a medical potion can cost on a whole of 5,500 bits." Tide's jaw visibly dropped. That was as expensive as a house on 10 acres of land, or a top of the line day sailor*! The rent his family pays on the house is 225 bits every three months!

"So, If your fine by tomorrow, or the day after, I'll let you go. But for now, I want to find out why your healing so quickly." The doctor said with finality.

~~~~***~~~~

I awoke some time later still on the 'beach chair' but this time, someone new was with me. I admit my body tensed, and jumped a little, but this pony wasn't hurting me by any stretch. In fact, they were pulling at the wrappings around my body.

"Oh goodness, I'm sorry. Didn't mean to wake you there. My name's Doctor Coral. I'm your... doctor for lack of a better term." She told me. She then continued. "I'm a marine veterinarian. They call me when a sea creature is sick or hurt. It's my job to heal."

Giving a gentle grunt, I acknowledge what she told me, and let her do what she's doing.

"You really are an interesting creature. May I ask how old you are?" She asked me. I found myself confused by that question.

"What do you mean?"

"Your age. My son, Sandbar is 16 years old." She told me, clearly hoping I'd get understand. I didn't.

"What is a year?" I ask.

"Oh dear..." she winced. She then began to explain. "A year is a measurement of time. There are twelve months in a year, or 365 days, with four seasons. Down in the tropics where you live, or lived? Anyway, There's Spring, Summer-" There I interrupted her.

"I've heard of summer. That's the hot season, yes?" I ask, opening one eye to her.

"You can call it that, yes. Winter would be it's opposite, like it is outside." She told me.

"The stormy season." I answer. "If that is how it is, I've seen the storm season... seventeen times I think" I admit, I wasn't sure, but it seemed the most true answer I could give.

"Goodness." That seemed to be all she could say, as she finished checking my bandages.

Some time passed in silence as she continued to look me over. Shining a bright light into my eyes, Having me open my mouth, I don't know why. It was around then that a new pony with a horn on her head and a crazed look in her eye came in, startling us both.

"Oh My CELESTIA, YOU'RE REAL!!!" She screamed! Hopping off the beach chair towards the wall, I found myself clinging to it, just live the cave under the wall of water. I give her an aggressive hiss.

"Wow! You can cling to the walls like a gecko! This is so Cool!!!" she screamed.

"Ugh, Doctor, please contain yourself!" Doctor Coral barked. "If you scare him more your likely to get us all hurt! Sorry about this Levi. She's usually more... calm than this."

The two seemed to fight back and forth like that for a short while. I simply stayed at my place on the wall and watched. It seemed that after a while, the new land pony, seemed to visibly calm down. I slowly turn my body around, so that I face the ground, and crawl down. The horned pony, Kelp green in color, with sea foam white 'mane and tail' seemed to be scratching something down on a leaf? I guess Doctor Coral saw my confusion.

"She's just taking notes. Don't worry. She won't hurt you. This is Doctor Marlin. She's a marine biologist. She studies the life in the seas; Everything from the smallest plankton to the biggest whales." She informed. "She gets excited when something new pops up."

"And today that's you! I've studied almost every sea legend about your kind! I thought they were all extinct." She smiled, creepily, as I landed on the floor. "Where is your pod? Why are you so far inland? Can you-" She began to ask, before Coral used her 'hoof' to smack her on the head.

"Where are your manners!?" She exasperatedly yelled.

"I'm alone." was all I could say. These ponies obviously stood taller than me, but I was easily twice as long as an adult pony.

"Okay Levi. She wants to study you really quick. Just some anatomy. Is that okay?" Coral asked for her.

"Hey!" Marlin yelled.

"She tries to hurt me, I zap her." I hiss.

"Zap?! So you really are bio-electrical?!"

"MARLIN!" Coral yelled.

"Sorry". Marlin wilted. The two slowly approached me, and Marlin began to speak aloud.

"Ok... Height is a head shorter than an average adolescent pony, Roughly 120 centimetres tall to the top of the head, with a length from nose to tail tip, is roughly 270 centimetres." She rambled. " Short and stubby snout; Large, forward facing eyes, with pupils that can change from round, to allow for greater intake of light, to slit for less. Dark green in color, with a lighter green from the chin to the underbelly. The nose appears placed higher up between the eyes to also function as a blow hole, like whales and dolphins. Lips along the mouth, no big surprise." Well Sharks... she's gonna keep going. The little 'feather' I think also continuing to scratch away.

"Pair of fins on the side of the head... leading to ear holes, interesting. Catfish like whiskers under the chin. So far you perfectly match the descriptions in the old books. I've even heard it was confirmed you have both gills AND lungs. Yep. there are gills right behind your ears along your neck." She smiled. "Following the dorsal fin, it goes from the top of the head all the way down to the tail, and appears to be a line of spines, with webbing between each spine." As she slowly begins to circle me, like a hungry shark, I watch her every move. "Hind legs definitely shorter than the front, with clawed hands. similar to a dragon, but webbed, for ease of swimming. I'd love to see that sometime."

"From there, there are a third set of fins behind the hind legs, definitely vestigial. Probably used for mating slash breeding. A body length tail, maybe longer, ending in a trident shaped tail fluke." Finally she stopped. Stepping in front of me; She smiled, a little more widely than I felt comfortable with. "Thank you ever so much! When your completely healed I'd love to see how you swim and what life for you is like." Looking behind her, I see the familiar purple pony from earlier.

"Am I interrupting?" she asks, a smile on her face. "I'm sorry if Doctor Marlin was a bit too much for you. How are his wounds Doctor Coral?"

"His wounds are healing remarkably quickly your Highness." She responded.

"I can gladly give you a copy of my notes princess." The doctor beamed.

"Please. Anyway, I brought you some more fish. And I hope you don't mind, but I brought somepony along." Looking behind her, I see a smaller pony. "This is River Delta. She's here at her brother Tide Pool's request. We just want to talk with you; if that's okay."

"Do you mind if I stay in the water for this?" I ask calmly; The water was always a safe haven, to a degree.

"Of course." She smiled, holding a hoof out to the pool. I slide myself back into the wonderfully warm water, but I leave my head and 'hands' above the water, as I hang on the edge.

"So... What do you want to know?" I ask. The two ponies placed one dish of fish in front of me, another on a table between them, as the lay on beach chairs, and a third in front of the two doctors. I also notice that Doctors Marlin and Coral haven't left. Okay then.

"Anything about you works." Twilight tells me.

"Before we start," The smaller pony, River Delta says. "I'd like to apologize to you." This catches me off guard. I tilt my head in confusion, wanting to know why. "I told the Sea-ponies about you. Not my brother. I was jealous of him for... the worst reasons and... all this happened. So, Now I'm trying to do right by my baby brother, and fix the mess I made. So... I'm sorry." I may not know much about pony emotions but... she definitely sounds sincere.

"I see... Apology accepted I guess?" I won't lie, I was confused. "Okay then... Well, for the longest time, I've been living in a cave, under what you ponies call a 'Blue Hole'. Not even the sea-ponies can reach it's bottom so I've been rather safe until recently." Delta visibly flinched.

"I can imagine that the water down there is pretty cold." Twilight assumed.

"Normally you'd be right. But this cave led to another cavern that had a deep pool of... I don't know what it was but It was very hot. Glowing yellow, thick." I tried to describe.

"Waitwaitwait, wait. Your saying that there's a geothermal vent down there?" Doctor Marlin cut in. Again, I tilt my head in confusion. "That must be why that particular reef is so dense!"

"You essentially sleep near an under water volcano." Twilight clarified.

"I have no idea what those are." I grumble.

"Magma is the thick glowing yellow liquid that is very hot. It's basically liquid rock. Roughly 1100 degrees Celsius. Think of it as the blood of the earth itself. A volcano is... basically a vent, or a scar, but we can talk about that later." Twilight explained. "So, you say you live inside a geothermal vent?"

"I guess so. Yes." I acknowledge. The ponies gathered were all scribbling notes.

"And the magma doesn't burn?" Doctor Coral asked.

"No, it's quite nice. Very comfortable. I normally sleep half submerged in it." I shrug, grabbing a bite of my fish.

"So I guess it's more appropriate to call you a Sea Dragon. Hehe" Doctor Marlin chuckled.

"That wouldn't be too far off." Twilight smiled. "But in all seriousness, The books about you claimed you were bio luminescent. Is that true?" Once again, I'm confused, and tilt my head.

"You can glow and give off your own light?" River Delta interjected.

"Oh... Yes. I'd show you but it's hard to see during the day." I told them. Next thing I know, It's almost pitch dark, except for the glow of Twilight's horn. Shrugging in the water, I concentrate carefully. Next thing I know, light is coming from my whole body bright enough to illuminate the four ponies, and the entire pool.

"Awesome!" Sharks that Marlin pony is excitable. I will my glow to stop, and the darkness returns. "Can you see us in this darkness?" She asks.

"A bit, yes. If I wanted to see further away I'd use sound." I explain.

"Echolocation. Amazing. I'd ask for a demonstration, but I don't think we'd be able to hear it." Doctor Coral smiled. "How loud can you go?"

"I've made a whale, and Sea-pony's ears bleed if that accounts for anything." I say, making my tail splash in the water behind me. Quickly dipping my head beneath the surface, I force myself to relax before coming back up.

"Okay then." Twilight smiles, as her horn glows again, and light returns to the pool. "One more question, and we'll leave you be for the day." I nod. "Is it true your bio-electrical? You can use your own lightning?" She asked. With a small smile, I begin to feel the twisting in my gut. I let it continue until... Right about the same when I zapped that small red animal a few days ago, and release it. The whole pool lights up with arcs of lightning, with me as the source.

"It's how I hunt. I can focus it only whatever happens to be my prey for the moment, then pop." I accentuate the 'pop' with a small splash from my tail. "The animal doesn't fight. Quick and painless. It's also how I fight off predators bigger than me." Suddenly I find myself yawning.

"Okay then. Thank you very much for your time. This information will be very helpful." Twilight tells me as she gathers the empty plates. "You have friends here in Equestria. You should rest some more."

"River Delta?" I ask. The pony in question looks to me. "Where is Tide Pool?"

"The doctors wanted to see him; said he's healing way too fast and don't know why. The injury should take a few months to heal correctly, but it's going way too quick." She told me simply. "He's worried about you."

"Tell him, that I am well, and that I wish him the same." I told her, before submerging again, near the bottom of the pool, which seems to have been heated up some more. Not quite as hot as my 'Vent' back home, but comfortable.

~~~~***~~~~

Twilight smiled as she read over Doctor Marlin's notes about her apparent guest. Looking up, a familiar young hippogriff stared back at her.

"Oh, Terramar! I almost didn't see you there. Can I help you?" She asked.

"Princess... I'm not sure I can go back to Sea-Questria, or Mount Aris... Not after yelling at Aunt Novo the way I did." He began.

"Terramar... You don't have to do this." His mother, Ocean Flow said.

Twilight suddenly felt a lump in her throat. A family suddenly divided.

"Ill talk to Novo one more time before she leaves tomorrow. Okay, Terramar? I'm sure we can work this out." Twilight comforted as best she could. She might need some help.

~~~~***~~~~

"The blood test results For the colt 'Tide Pool' are back doctor." The nurse started. "But... something's wrong."

"Well?" The doctor urged. "Am I going to have to pull it out of you?"

"The samples are contaminated." She said plainly.

"Impossible. How?" The nurse was beginning to look nervous, going so far as shuffling on her hooves, before passing the doctor the paperwork.

"Well, They say it's contaminated with 'blood from unknown origin.'" She quoted. "Something definitely not pony."

The doctor was genuinely puzzled. Looking into Tide's room, the colt seemed completely engrossed in a book given to him by his mother.

~~~~***~~~~

Delta was returning to her family, Tide's new notebook tucked under her wing. The young pegasus mare now deeply regretting her actions. Tears began to build in her eyes. What had she done?

"You okay there?" A young changeling asked, startling Delta.

"Me?" She asked.

"I don't see any other mopey ponies on this road. Wanna talk about it?" The changeling offered. "My name's Ocellus." She began, offering a hoof.

"River Delta; Would it really change anything? Talking about it?" She challenged.

"That depends. You might learn something about yourself if you do." Ocellus shrugged. "But it's up to you. I won't make you pick one way or another. Maybe Tide needs his Big Sister to help him." She cryptically finished. "I'm at Friendship U. Campus Dorms, Kindness Branch, Room 319, if you change your mind." And with that, she flew off.

River stood, stock still. A cold wind blew through her mane and feathers. Maybe that Ocellus was right. Time to be the Big Sister, through and through. But first, the hotel room the Princess kindly paid for. Her parents are trusting her to come straight back. She won't betray their trust again.

Author's Note

* - Day Sailor being a general term for small sail boat without living accommodations.

As far as I'm aware, Sandbar doesn't really talk about his family much aside from that instance with Hearths Warming, so I'm taking a creative Liberty here.

And I finally describe Levi in detail. If I should do more segments of certain other characters, lemme know. And yes, there's a subnautica reference in there.