Chapters The Thing Beneath the Waves
Prologue: The Sounds of the Sea
A beige colt was having the time of his life as he swam among the reef. He was there with a group of ponies to learn how to dive, and this was his final exam! Swimming in the actual ocean; Just south of Seaquestria too! He couldn't believe his eyes. Lion fish, Clown fish, Triggerfish, Hawkfish, all were swimming around him among the sea sponges, anemones, and corals. Going back to the surface, he looked around, and still saw his group, and the boat that they came in on, so he figured he was fine.
Diving back down, a seapony swam up to him, one of the safety rangers.
"You might want to swim back to your group kid. It's very easy to get lost, despite how shallow this water is. Follow me." She said calmly, before turning to lead the young colt back to his diving group. He followed obediently, having heard the stories of ponies who had gone diving, then either got lost or left behind... most never made it back. As he rejoined his dive group, his instructor did a simple roll call on the surface.
"Okay everypony, stay together as a group. We'll pair up in a little while. Don't touch the lion fish and urchins, they're poisonous;" the deep blue mare warned. "While they won't kill you, it will be very painful. Mind your distance with the sharks. If you can see them, they most likely will leave you alone. All that aside, stay calm, and don't panic. Last thing anypony wants is the bends, which we discussed in the classroom. Who remembers what the bends are?" she asked.
The young beige colt raised his hoof first. "Miss Sea Star?" He asked.
"Yes, Tide?"
"The bends ma'am, is also called Decompression sickness. When the diver rises too fast and gets bubbles in the blood." Tide Pool answered, putting his hoof back in the water. "And the symptoms can be anything from a small rash, and joint pain, to death. And the only treatment is a Re-compression chamber."
"Well done Tide. Glad to see young ponies so interested in the seas." Sea Star smiled. "Now, how much to we want to float on a full lung of air?" She asked. Another pony raised her hoof.
"We want to keep just our eyes above the surface ma'am?" She answered nervously.
"Good. Now, lets do just that." Sea Star smiled as she took in a deep lungful of air. The class followed her example without hesitation. Tide Pool calmly got to finally use the skills he learned in the classroom and pool, in the real ocean. Behind his calm facade, he was ecstatic. Ever since he got his cutie mark, He's wanted to explore the sea more, and was unable to resist it's call. To swim with the dolphins, photograph fish as they swam, maybe see a whale, and if he's lucky, maybe discover a new species! They did only recently rediscover an ancient fish long thought extinct... So why couldn't he?
The seaponies hired to keep a watchful eye on any stragglers and wanderers also made a very clear warning earlier that day. To stay away from the Blue Hole. Why was that? Why stay away from a blue hole? It was just an underwater sinkhole after all. As he swam with the class, he began to hear a near unmistakable sound. A low, deep rumbling wail from the distance.
"OOOH! Your in luck Class!" a seapony called excitedly. "We got Humpback Whales swimming by on their migrations! Follow us and you'll get to see them"
Whales!? Real whales!? Here? Now? And humpbacks too!? Oh was Tide Pool ever so glad he brought his underwater camera! He was sooo going to enjoy this! Quickly swimming to the front of the group, Tide Pool raised his camera and followed the seaponies to the edge of the reef.
There, off in the distance, was two pairs of Humpbacks. Two cows, two calves. Their calls and songs entranced young Tide Pool. Raising his camera, Tide Pool focused on the whales. Their songs, sounding both mournful, but full of life. Their grunts and groans... It was a language all it's own. Their long pectoral fins and tiny dorsal fin. It was majestic to watch. He must have snapped at least a dozen photos before remembering he had only so much film.
"Beautiful, aren't they?" asked a seapony next to him. He nodded in affirmation. " They're swimming to the polar north for their feeding grounds." She explained. "They like the warmer waters for having babies. Gives the calves time to build insulating fat reserves to keep them warm in the colder waters during migration." Tide already knew this of course, but was too enraptured by the majestic animals in the distance. All the divers then swam to the surface as one of the cows began to dive.
Tide followed closely, readying his camera for one more shot. Breaking he surface, he aimed carefully, and waited; His hoof hovered over the shutter lever, like a rattlesnake waiting to strike an unwary mouse. Then, like clockwork, one of the Humpback cows broke the surface. The whole body nearly flying completely out of the water as Tide Pool struck the shutter, before coming back down and making a tremendous splash. The crowd of divers cheered, whooped and hollered at the display, unable to believe their luck! First time in the ocean and they get a free whale watching excursion? How often does that happen?
Diving back down, Tide began to explore the reef as the whales made their departure. This was already the best day ever(!), so, time to explore. The sounds of the sea were just as astounding as the sights. If he listened, he could hear all kinds of sounds. Dolphins, Whales, it was amazing. The sounds of birds splashing and catching fish. As he listened, he photographed. Clown fish in their anemones, crabs crawling along the sea bed, whole schools of Angelfish, even the corals themselves.
It was then he saw the biggest fish he'd ever seen. A Giant Goliath Grouper, as big as he was, or maybe a bit bigger. As he raised his camera, the fish jolted and began to swim away. The young colt, determined to come home with at least one photo of such a large fish, gave chase. He paid little attention to where he swam or to how far away from his group he was; He was going to have proof of this large fish, lest his friends and older sister claim his stories to just be "Fisherpony tales". Before he knew it, the grouper dove straight down, into the dark blue below.
Tide, suddenly knowing how far away from the group he was, stopped his pursuit, but aimed his camera anyway. As he aimed, the fish got further and further away. Suddenly, a new sound met his ears. It sounded like a young whale's cry, but much higher in pitch. Oh if only there was a hydrophone with him. As his hoof met the shutter lever, a bright green flash erupted from the deep blue, striking the giant grouper. The fish, once alive and moving vibrantly, shuddered, then stopped moving. Much to Tide Pool's surprise, it began to rise. Then came that call again. That call... what was that? He'd never heard a call like that before... It was almost... musical, and not like the Humpbacks from earlier. This was as if something down there was... singing. Literally singing, as if humming a lullaby.
It was then Tide Pool realized that the Giant Grouper he was chasing was now dead, and limp. It's swim bladder carrying it back up to the surface. Maybe he could ask the Seaponies if he could take it home for dinner? He did have a pegasus for a father and sister after all. His hoof never left the shutter lever of his camera. Looking down at the counter... shoot! 3 frames left... Still looking down into the deep blue below, he noticed something off... another light... no... wait... there's two lights. As if a pair of eyes was watching him. His hoof gently pressed the shutter lever again.
Suddenly something swam up and grabbed the Grouper. His hoof slammed down on the lever as quickly as he could. As best as Tide Pool could tell, it was that blue-ish green of shallow sea water. It bit down on the grouper, also grabbing it with what appeared to be clawed fins, similar to seals. As it did, the high pitched cry returned. Immediately after grabbing the dead fish, It began to dive. Slamming his little hoof on the shutter lever again, he saw the creature's tail. It was a fluke... similar to a whale or dolphin's fluke, before it disappeared into the deep blue below. As it swam away, he heard that song again; That gentle lullaby. Tide Pool couldn't help but keep his gaze fixated on those dark waters.
That is... until a fin grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. There, in his face, was a mildly irritated seapony stallion.
"I thought we told you to stay away from the blue hole! Your not here to dive deep." He said, annoyed. "C'mon Tide. Back to the group. And you were doing so well." The stallion grumbled lightly as he escorted the colt back to the group. The group was nestled into a small sandy hole in the middle of the reef, doing a head count. Sea Star immediately looked relieved upon seeing the young colt, then annoyed when the seapony safety guard told her where he was found. Tide, unable to speak only looked sheepish as he was berated with his instructor's eyes. She then motioned for the class to rise to the surface.
The class, following their instructor, rose up slowly to the surface. Tide Pool couldn't help but feel guilty, having disobeyed the Seaponies... Was that thing why they said to stay away from the Blue Hole? He had to find out more... Climbing back aboard the boat, he undid the diving rig strapped to his barrel, unable to get that... song... out of his head, and that glow from his eyes... Was there something down there the seaponies DIDN'T know about?
"Congratulations everypony, you're now certified divers. You'll get your temporary licenses signed when we get back to shore. Even you Tide." Sea Star said joyfully, before adding "Please don't disappear like that again... You know never to wander off or dive alone. Just about gave me a heart attack."
Before they began to propel the boat back to shore, Tide wandered over to one of the seaponies, now a hippogriff.
"Sorry for wandering off... I was just... trying to get a picture of a Goliath Grouper... darn thing was bigger than me!" He explained. "But... it dove into the hole."
"Next time, let one of us know okay? We're not mad kid, just... ugh... don't do it again." He said calmly with a gentle smile.
"I gotta ask though..." Tide started. "Is something living in that blue hole?" The hippogriff looked confused.
"What do ya mean kid?" The green hippogriff asked.
"I mean, when that grouper swam down, I saw... a flash of green light, and suddenly the grouper was dead. I saw glowing eyes, Then something then swam up, grabbed the fish, and swam back down... I don't know if I got a picture of it... but I hope I do." Tide said, fidgeting with his now empty camera. The hippogriff looked thoughtful, pondering what the colt had just told him.
"I wouldn't worry too much about it, Tide. There's all kinds of creatures out there. Could've just been an eel or something. Morays can get pretty darn big." He explained with a smile. "Why don't ya just park it, and enjoy the ride home?"
Tide, having no better explanation or anything to do, did just that. He watched as the dolphins began to play in the wake of the boat. their jumping, and splashing, some even spinning. But Tide couldn't get that sound out of his mind still. Even when Sea Star shook the young colt from his stupor, he still heard that sound. He filed off the ship, with his class, staring at his camera...
"What are you?" he asked himself quietly.
"Here ya go Tide! One temporary diver's certification. You'll get the real deal in the post next week." Sea Swirl said excitedly. Tide's attention was suddenly, and fully on his new certification. His mood had gone from somber curiosity to excited faster than a changelings shapeshift. Best day EVER!
~~~~***~~~~
As Tide came out of the photographer's shop with his father, envelope in his saddle bags, He regaled the details of his trip to his pop.
"Have fun out there champ? See plenty of fish?" His father, Redwood asked.
"Oh heck yeah! Even saw a few Humpback Whales!" Tide Pool chattered excitedly, practical bouncing on his hooves.
"Humpbacks?! On your first ocean dive!? That's awesome! Please tell me you got photos of that!" Redwood said. "I've only seen them from the sky."
"Oh yeah, about a dozen of them. It was so cool!" The beige colt exclaimed loudly. "One of them even breached!"
"Aw darn... now I really wish I had gone with ya! I'd have loved to have seen that." The rust colored pegasus smiled. "At least ya took pictures. Maybe we can frame some. Now let's get a move on. Your ma and sis are waiting."
~~~~***~~~~
The young colt excitedly ate a congratulatory dinner made by his mother. Even his normally teasing sister was happy for his success. That night, he carefully looked over the final three photos. The first... Of the eyes, he didn't know if they were watching him, or the dead fish. The second... Of the creature itself grabbing the fish. The third... of it's tail fluke, as it disappeared back into the depths. It was strange... He'd never seen such a creature, not in any of his books on sea life.
"What are you..?" Tide Pool asked to himself.
Author's Note
Something new... Speaking as a diver, I've always been fascinated by the sea; And I've always been interested in the idea of something large, and unknown, hiding beyond our reach, and as such, Various medias that explore such an idea I find fascinating. Such as Subnautica, Waterworld(Even though the sea monster is a 'blink and you miss it' moment), Meg, and similar.
The media that mostly inspired this, is a canceled TV series called "Surface". I recently got my hands on the box set of the one and only season, and have begun to re-watch the show. Now the creatures in the show are (SPOILER ALERT!) genetically engineered, but instead, I've tweaked the origin, and habits of the creatures. The sound effects, rather than what the show used, I'll let my nerd out a bit more and say they were inspired by the Legendary Pokemon, Lugia. If you remember those sounds, or just looked them up, good on you.
Constructive criticism is always welcome. Shoot, If you ask, I might include your OC in a select role in a few chapters. More details to come.
The Thing Beneath the Waves
One: There is Something Down There
Tide Pool had a hard time sleeping that night. That green flash, those glowing eyes, and that haunting, musical cry. He found himself waking up with a start, in a cold sweat several times that night. Breakfast was met with some light teasing.
"Hey. Stay up too late eyeballing those photots?" His older sister, a light blue pegasus named River Delta teased. "Or did you dream about those big Great White Sharks chasing you?"
"Oh hush. I'm not in the mood." Tide grumbled, sitting down to his bowl of cereal. Ignoring her teasing, he ate in silence.
"Ouch... you don't look too good. Something happen last night lil' Brah?" asked Redwood.
"Uh... After breakfast dad..." Tide said, trying to sound embarrassed.
"Oh! Uh... okay. Sure thing Lil' Brah."
~~~~***~~~~
Breakfast beyond that was uneventful. Tide then took his pa, Redwood, to his bedroom.
"Ok bud... I'm sure your worried, but what your body is doing is perfectly normal." Redwood began, before being interrupted by Tide Pool.
"Dad, I already know about puberty and all that. I know it's happening, and I'm not bothered. What does bother me-" Young Tide stopped to yawn. "Is this." said as he handed the three photos to his pop.
Redwood looked closely at the photographs, squinting, and rotating them. Looking back up at his Earth pony son, he asked "What am I looking at?" Tide didn't respond verbally, and instead pointed out the eyes in the first photo, a short distance away from the dead fish. In the second photo, he carefully outlined with his hoof, the shape of the large aquatic animal grabbing said fish. And in the third, he outlined the tail as it descended.
"I don't know what it is, but when I asked the seaponies, they said it was probably an eel. I've heard all kinds of underwater sounds dad, you know that. You bought the records!" Tide almost yelled, exasperatedly. "But nothing made sounds like that. I think there's something new down there..."
Redwood looked concerned, both for his son, and for what may be in the oceans, right off the coast near his home. Now seeing the shape his son outlined, he began to ponder. Odds are, his son was exaggerating, and it was a simple case of mis-identification. He made this a clear question.
"You sure you didn't just... I don't know, mistake a seal or something?"
"I'm sure dad. I have Pegasus eyes remember? 20/5 in both eyes. I know what I saw, and it was no seal, it wasn't an eel, it wasn't even a seapony playing a prank. No... this is something either new, or so ancient, it's been hiding for ages." Tide declared, staring his red colored father in the eyes.
Redwood looked his son in his eyes. This colt had conviction, and his mind was set. Redwood always was proud of that conviction. His colt always pursued whatever he put his mind to, and to a fault, was relentless in his pursuit; At least, compared to his daughter's lackadaisical mindset. He had personally purchased a fair few of the books on marine biology. The colt however, had purchased even more through his own allowance earnings. If anything, this colt knew most of what he was talking about.
"Alright." Redwood said with a sigh. "we'll go to the library today and see what we can find. Your lucky today is Saturday. If we find something promising... we'll cross that bridge when we get there." He said calmly, ruffling his colt's mane.
Tide smiled. "Thanks dad. I'll be honest, I was half worried I'd have to do this all by myself."
"Worried your family would think your crazy?" Redwood asked playfully. "Now let's get a move on. The Library calls." he declared.
As they descended the stairs of their house, Marina, the green earth pony mare called out, "So where are my two stallions off too?" She asked, nuzzling the young colt.
"Mo~om!" Tide Pool whined, albeit with a small smile.
"We're going to the library. Tide needs information on a report for Miss Bramble." Redwood lied calmly. He hated lying to his wife, but if Tide was right...
"Oh? What are we researching?" She asked playfully.
"Just some Equestrian history. Nothing major." Answered Tide calmly.
"Well alright you two. Don't get in too much trouble!"
~~~~***~~~~
Tide Pool and Redwood both flipped through plenty of books on current marine biology, and even had a small stack on extinct creatures, just in case.
"Harbor seal?" Redwood asked quietly.
"Nah. This thing was green, and much longer than a seal." Tide answered, equally quiet.
Closing the book, Redwood decided to flip through the book of ancient marine biology. He had heard about the ancient fish before; Tide had told him about it some time ago, and had even seen photos of a supposedly extinct whale, only to be rediscovered as little as six months ago. While it was a VERY big longshot, it wasn't impossible. As he skimmed through the book, he'll admit to this day that he learned quite a bit about the marine life in the seas.
Tide however happened to glance over just as his father turned a page, when something jumped out at him. A familiar shaped tail fluke. Fast as a rattlesnake, the little colt slid over and back to the page his father had so casually turned. As he gazed at the illustration, of a giant, multi limbed beast about to bite down on an unsuspecting whale, his mind flashed back to that instant at the blue hole. That brilliant green flash, those glowing eyes, The clawed pectoral fins, and primitive tail fluke... Quietly, he read aloud.
The Leviathan.
Of the many ancient beasts that swam our seas, none were as fearsome as the Leviathan. This ancient monster of the deep roamed our seas over a thousand years ago, and feared nothing. An adult was big enough to bite whales in half. It was reported then to be a blue/green color, allegedly, it had six legs, with the front and middle pairs webbed and clawed, similar to a seals, However the third is speculated to be vestigial; Used for mating, like ancient whales. However, no deceased specimen has ever been recovered, so all we have is sailors reports, and speculation. Sailors from all over the known world at the time often reported that the beasts would glow an iridescent green at night. Some have reported that they heard what would sound like a whale, only much more musical. Ancient whalers would report seeing a bright flash of green light, before a whale would rise to the surface, dead. Almost immediately after, the carcass of the deceased whale would be dragged back down by something massive.
It is speculated that they were bio-electric, similar to electric eels, and would shock their prey to death before consuming them. In rare cases, such as a simple deckhoof, aboard the RES Alicorn, would have seen the beasts take the whale, or whatever was it's current prey. He reported that What he saw was a massive, albeit short, green jaw, with what appeared to be whiskers, like one would see on a catfish; As illustrated.
In some cases, Whaling vessels such as the RES Dusk, RES Trottingham, and most famous, RES Zap Apple, they would mistake Leviathan for whales, and try to harpoon the beasts. The creature would, instead of diving to try and get away, as whales often did, they would turn and attack the ship that harpooned them. Most of the sailors would survive the encounter, but not all would make it. In the case of the Zap Apple... only two of her six life rafts were found, and even then, there were only three survivors per boat. The survivors claimed that the Leviathan displayed almost ponylike intelligence.
Captain Bread Crust of the Zap Apple reported that he held his spear aloft, ready to strike one as it surfaced near his life raft. But the beast never moved, and stared him in the eye. During that moment, Captain Crust realized that if he threw the last harpoon, he would doom his crew; So he lowered the weapon; And in turn, the beast swam away. But not before nudging the small boat in the direction of shore... So the Captain claimed.
This was all before Princesses Celestia & Luna both led a massive culling against the creatures; And have since been hunted to extinction. The only surviving piece of a Leviathan is currently a small set of teeth, on display in the Canterlot museum of Natural History.
Tide Pool couldn't believe it... there was no way it was a Leviathan he saw... but... the pieces fit too perfectly. What he saw was most likely, a young Leviathan.
"What is it, Lil' Brah?" Redwood asked in a hushed whisper. "This it?"
"I'm positive of it... It must have been a baby or adolescent."Tide said, his eyes never leaving the illustration. Before long, the young colt was looking through the card files looking for anything he could on The Leviathan.
~~~~***~~~~
The hours flew by, and before he knew it, he was having lunch at the local hayburger. His saddle bags stuffed full on books and legends about the ancient Leviathan.
"Are you absolutely sure, that this is what you saw?" His rust colored father asked for the sixth time.
"That's six; And yes. I'm sure." Tide answered between bites. "Dad..." He began apprehensively.
"Yeah, Lil' Brah?"
"I want to go back out there. I want to see if I can find it again." The young colt convicted. "I'll understand if you say no, but-"
"Whats the average price for a rental SCUBA rig?" Redwood interrupted. "If your right, I'll double your allowance, I won't make you pay for the rental; And maybe, just maybe, your mother won't kill us. So what's the plan? What do we know?"
Tide was genuinely surprised. He honestly never expected this.
"Well... The Leviathan are said to be bioluminescent. So maybe we wont need a SCUBA rig. Just a boat for a night run. Unless you want to go for a night dive and risk all kinds of sharks or other nocturnal predators. I'm not night certified anyway..." Tide pool responded, suddenly unsure.
~~~~***~~~~
The day went on with no further excitement, other than the two ponies discreetly renting a small boat for later that night, under the guise of 'night fishing'. Dinner as well also past without incident. Just as soon as the meals were finished, Redwood said he was going to take Tide Pool out for some night fishing.
"Night fishing?" Marina asked curiously. "And what's this special occasion? Want to see if he can hook a bull or tiger shark too?"
"Nah. Probably just some perch or something. Something for the dinner table later. Young stallion's going to be a provider for his family someday." Replied her rusty pegasus, much to Tide's minor embarrassment.
"Well be careful. And tomorrow, we're talking about Delta's grades. She's slipping... again..."
"Mo~om! I am not!" River Delta whined loudly.
"Anyway, you two best be off. Bring home something big!"
Tide Pool calmly grabbed his coat off the hangar as he followed his dad out the door. It may be southern Equestria, but the weather was scheduled to start to chill. Nightmare Night was next week after all. The two calmly made their way to the docks, discussing what may happen.
"Okay Tide... I'll be honest. I'm humoring you. I'm almost 95% sure your mis-identifying something else. But... I'm sure this is an extreme longshot, but let's say your right. What are we looking for?" Redwood started.
"Well some confidence is better than none... But we're looking for light. Green light from under the water." Tide replied, then continued. "I can Dive and look around more during the day; But night is easier to see light, and the sailor's reports all say they saw green light. I'm not trying to provoke it to attack, but if... and IF, we see the light... we can go home, and I get to say I was right." He finished as he hopped into their rental boat, and slipped on a life jacket. Redwood followed suit, untying the ropes holding the small skip to the docks.
"Just light huh?" His father replied. "Sounds simple enough. How do you plan on luring it out?" he asked, tapping the red gem that ran the small motor, kicking it to life.
"Well the night fishing was actually a good idea, so why not that?" Tide shrugged, pointing to the blue hole.
The boat the two ponies rented powered through the water to the best of it's ability. It was nothing fancy, just a small fisherpony's boat. Time was slow to the young pony as the boats smaller arcane engine didn't put out the same power as the dive boat, and it felt like it took twice as long as it actually did. Upon reaching the blue hole, The two ponies baited their fishing rods, and began to fish.
~~~~***~~~~
"FISH ON!" Tide yelled as his rod suddenly bent at a very steep angle, almost folding. The reel making a loud whine as the string was being undone.
"Hang tight bud!" Redwood replied, setting his rod down, and helping his son keep a hold of his fishing rod. "C'mon, you know the game. Tire it out!"
"I'm trying dad! GRRRR! This fish is hu-AHHHH!" Tide screamed before he was pulled overboard, into the dark waters.
"TIIIIDE!" Redwood yelled, jumping into the seas after him. Opening his eyes, he watched as his colt released his fishing rod, and began to swim to the surface. Keeping his wings folded, he swam to meet Tide and get them both back in the boat. As they both broke the surface, the fish that pulled Tide under became visible. They found themselves being circled by a large shark. It was to dark to tell what kind, but the side to side motion of the fins suggested this fish was above average for it's size.
"Dad... I'm scared." Tide confessed, holding on to his father's life preserver.
"We're gonna be fine bud. I promise." Redwood said, trying to sound confident, if only for his son's sake. He then noticed Tide's ears twitching, and his Pegasus senses kicking up. Odd... There's no clouds out tonight, so why is his magic telling him lightning is coming? Then he heard it... a high pitched animal call. It sounded... almost musical. Then came a bright green flash, and dull boom, seeming to come from directly beneath them. Redwood's senses told him that lightning had just been discharged underneath him, and... struck the shark...
"Dad..." Tide whispered. "It's right under our hooves!" the poor colt was shivering. Redwood was unsure if it was fear, or the cold making his colt shiver, but he knew he needed to find the boat. Flying was out as an option. Once a pegasus was in the water, they had to swim to shore before they could take off again.
The light reappeared, then slowly moved away from the two ponies, and illuminated the bottom of their boat. Just as the two ponies began to swim towards it, the boat suddenly turned, and began to make it's way towards them. As it got closer, they saw that it was being pulled by the anchor line. As the boat stopped in front of them, Tide was suddenly propelled out of the water and into the boat. Redwood was also pushed back in, but not as much as Tide was. Once they were both in the boat, Redwood turned to hug his son again.
"We're okay Tide. We're okay." Redwood said, trying to use his body temperature to warm his shivering colt back up.
"I-i-t's s-s-t-t-i-ll h-h-here..." Tide shivered. Just as Tide shivered those words, a splash sounded from behind them, and a noticeable weight was suddenly on the back of the boat. Both ponies then turned to face whatever had jumped onto their boat. Two eyes, glowing in the moonlight met their gaze.
Author's Note
Also of note, Please do point out any spelling or gramatical errors.
Also, 20/20 is standard eyesight, 20/10 is better than average, 20/5, while extremely rare in humans, might just be a pegasus standard. Like Rainbow when she was flying. She was able to take in so many details just by passively flying overhead, and casually observing, barely paying any attention to what was happening below her.
I tried to describe the Leviathan as best I could, while also blurring some fine details. Eyeshine and Bio luminescence are both traits of animals that tend to live in very low light to absolute darkness. And no matter how clear the water, or how bright the moon, the light will not illuminate the seas. A night dive is basically jumping in a pitch black pool.
The Thing Beneath the Waves
I've seen that little one before... two suns ago in fact. Why were they here now? Who was the older one? Certainly doesn't look like the little one... Strange.
"What are you doing in these waters before the storm season?" I ask them calmly. " I'm sure you both know that the large fish are more dangerous at night when the air breathing fish sleep?"
"W-w-w-w-e-e-e w-w-w-w-ere l-l-l-l-look-k-k-ing f-f-f-f-or you" The small one said with a shudder.
"Are you well?" I ask, tilting my head. "Wait... looking for me? Why?"
"My son saw you when he was learning to dive. He wanted to make sure he wasn't seeing things." The older one replied. "I honestly didn't think we'd find you, but... Thanks... for that... Whatever you did to that shark."
"You should make your way back to your den. It's going to get colder and the storms will start soon." I say as I turn my back to them. "Also... Please don't seek me out again."
"W-w-w-ait!" The young one calls as I get ready to dive back into the sea. "W-w-w-w-hats-s-s y-y-y-your n-n-name?" Name? What's a name? I ask as much.
"A name is what we call you. Mine is Redwood. My son here is Tide Pool. What's yours?" The elder, Redwood, explains.
"Most only call me Monster." I said, quietly. "Be smart. Don't come back until the storms end, and the Hot season begins." I don't let them say anymore and dive back into the sea. But not before ripping some teeth out of the shark and throwing them onto the floating island... Boats I think they're called. Then I drag the dead fish back down the hole in the sea bed, and take it with me into a small cave at the bottom. Leaving the body some ways past the entrance, I continue deeper.
The deeper I go, the warmer the waters get. I don't truly understand why, but the waters here are wonderfully warm. No predator has ever followed me down this deep. Ah, there's that glow. Deep into this cave, the waters get very thick. They even glow with the same light as the sun. I tried to bring a fish into these waters once... It... disappeared. Settleing myself into the thick, warm, and glowing water, I begin to hum a sound I remember hearing from so long ago. It always helped me fall to sleep.
~~~~***~~~~
Tide Pool couldn't believe it. He was right! But... First... home. He huddled close to his father as the boat powered home as fast as it could. Reaching down, he picked up the shark teeth the Leviathan had thrown into the boat... by the shape... It was a Bull Shark. Wrapping them in a rag, he huddled to his father again.
The boat ride back felt much longer than the ride out. The two ponies had much on their minds, and wanted their beds. Nothing was said between the two during the boat ride, and when they did reach the harbor, Redwood spoke up.
"Tide, when we get home, your getting into a hot bath and warming yourself up. No argument." He stated firmly.
"W-what ab-bout you d-dad?" Tide asked, trying to mitigate his shiver to be understandable.
"I'll be fine sport. I'm a pegasus. Built for colder environments. While a warm shower would be nice, you need it more." Redwood comforted as he tied the boat to the dock. "When you take that life jacket off, stay on my right. I'll keep the wind off you."
Tide did as he was told and walked home next to his father the whole way. Within ten minutes, They reached their home on Lion Fish Lane. Hard to miss, considering that their home still had it's porch lamp lit. As quietly as possible, the two ponies went inside, and Tide immediately made his way to the bath tub on the second floor. Redwood followed close behind to head for the Master bedroom(and adjourning bath room).
As the tub filled up with steaming warm water, Tide didn't bother to wait for the tub to fill and just climbed right in. He pulled his hooves back at first from the shock of the heat, but settled in quickly. When the water level reached a comfortable depth, he turned off the faucet, and began to relax. However, his young mind wandered quickly to the night's prior events. In his mind, he couldn't stop hearing that call; Seeing the lights, and the eyes. A knock then bucked him from his thoughts.
"Tide, sweetie? May I come in?" His mom called.
"Oh! Uh... Sure mom." Tide responded lethargically. Swiveling his ears, he listened to his mom open the bathroom door.
"Your father told me what happened... A shark pulled you overboard?" She asked her son.
"Yup. Big one. Dad pulled me out." Tide said, not looking up from the water.
"Really? Because your father said there was more too it." Marina chided softly, carefully watching her colt; He was hiding something. She WAS Mom after all. She Saw All, Heard All, and Knew All. She'd get the truth out of him. One way or another.
Tide was trapped, and he knew it. As far as he knew, his dad didn't tell her everything; But told her enough. Lies of Omission were still lies after all, and lies weren't tolerated in this house. With a sigh, Tide surrendered, and told her everything.
"In my bedside table drawer, there's three photographs I didn't show you. I saw something on my Diver's Final, in the deep water of a Blue Hole. I had never seen anything like it. Anywhere. Even the sounds it made were like nothing I've ever heard before. Dad and I went to the library, and checked out some books. I'm certain it's a living fossil. There's a word for that... Lazarus Taxon." Tide explained, finally looking his mother in the eye. She left, and returned a minute later, holding the photos and library books.
"So... What did you find?" She asked, wanting more details.
"I'm pretty darn sure it's a Leviathan. One of, if not THE last of his kind." Tide began. "It... He saved us. Pop and I."
Marina stood stock still. First looking her colt in the eyes, looking for any deception. Then turned to look at the photos closely. She saw what he saw, that was for sure. There was definitely something there. Lastly, the books. Her colt had conviction, that was for sure. But... a living Leviathan? That was stretching it.
"Tide... Sweetie... We'll talk about this in the morning. When your warmed back up, get some sleep." She said calmly, before leaving the room, taking the books and photos with her.
Tide, once again was left to his thoughts. Cat was out of the bag now.
~~~~***~~~~~
"I can't believe you let him go through with such a stunt!" Marina barked quietly. "You can't seriously believe this! A Leviathan?! Really? Did I ever tell you why my Aunt was disgraced?! It was because she claimed to have seen a Leviathan too! She was ridiculed, and ostracized! Now she lives as a hermit by the Lunar Lagoon." Marina said, pacing back an forth as her husband dried himself off.
"Hun... Please. You know Tide. He's no liar, and is quite often right about these things." Redwood began. "I was there. I saw what he saw. I don't know if it was a legitimate unknown species, there was very little light. But I've never seen eyes like that." He calmed. Redwood hugged his wife. He wanted to support his son, but also being a responsible parent. He was genuinely torn. "We'll talk about it in the morning, love."
"Fine... " Marina conceded as she was released from her lover's hold, and climbed into bed.
~~~~***~~~~
The night's sleep for most of the house wasn't exactly restful. Almost everypony slept fitfully. Tide kept seeing light, and eyes. Redwood kept feeling lightning discharge; And Marina kept worrying for her son, and her family's future. Tide Pool however, got the least amount of sleep. At some point before dawn, the colt felt the call of nature, and got up to relieve himself. Upon returning to his bedroom, he began to wonder what he should do next. As he pondered, his head fell back to his pillow, and fell right to sleep.
The following morning began with Tide Pool waking up to the sounds of his parents chastising his older sister for slacking in school. Everything from skipping classes, to purposefully causing trouble.
"That's it little lady! No more of this! You're getting a job, effective immediately!" Redwood barked.
"B-but Daddy, I can explain!" River Delta tried.
"Not by what I read in this letter from your teacher missy. Miss Bramble has nothing but good things to say about your brother, but your turning into a spoiled foal." Marina chided angerly.
"But I'm almost done with school! This is my last year-" Delta began before being interupted.
"Good. You could use some real world experience. You're getting a job. You'll work weekends until you graduate. Monday to Friday is school and homework. Weekends is your Job. No Ifs, Ands, or Buts." Redwood shot back. "Assuming you do graduate. By these grades little filly, you'll be held back a year."
"And not only are you getting a job, Your now paying rent. You want a roof over your head, You pay. You want food? You pay. You want to be treated like a mare? Guess what? This is it!" Marina added. "Don't like it? Buck up! The real world out there is alot meaner than we are."
Tide honestly wasn't surprised. He'd seen his sister's after school activities, how she bullied other foals younger or smaller than her. He'd even seen her throw parties when their parents were out. He was wondering when she was going to get her just deserts. Now for him to face his.
The colt stepped into view of his family. Time to face the music.
"Breakfast is on the counter Tide. Help yourself bud." Redwood said calmly. "We'll talk about last night in a bit okay?"
"Sure thing dad..." The colt began before whispering. "Mom thinks we're loco in the coco doesn't she?"
"'Fraid so lil' brah. I'll help as best I can." The elder pegasus whispered back.
~~~~***~~~~
Marina sat completely dumbfounded. Both her son and husband stood by what they claimed; and neither lied very often. Her daughter however, sat opposite her ready to burst out laughing. Both the boys claiming to have found a legendary sea monster? That was absurd! It had to be a prank. Just like her parents pranking her and telling her to get a job and pay rent.
"If Tide Pool here found a sea monster, then I'm a Princess!" She barked, finally falling to her laughter. "Colt, you need to come back up for air!"
"Not another word, young mare! Your still grounded, and getting a job starting right after Nightmare Night. Be grateful you get that as a courtesy." Marina growled, as her daughter quickly caught her laugh, and her wings drooped. "Now, back to you two... Can you prove that you found a sea monster?"
"Not as yet mom..." Tide began. "He said to stay away from the sea until, and I quote, 'The storm season ends'."
"And you know there aren't enough pegasi to maintain the weather this close to the sea. The storms get way too big." Redwood added.
"Okay... What about this... bio-electricity you said? What's to stop it from shocking either of you to death?" Marina tried again. These two... she wanted to support them. She really did. But claiming to have seen sea monsters often led to ridicule. Once her aunt had come out and claimed to have seen one, she too was ridiculed. Even her relatives had been victims of such "Fisherpony tales". "How do you know it is electrical?" This caused Redwood to sigh, and simply open his wings.
"I'm a pegasus, love. I know lightning when I feel it nearby." He stated matter-of-factly. "And last night, In that ocean, I felt it. It didn't shock everything around it, or Tide and I wouldn't be here. It was focused. Something was controlling that electricity, and whatever it was, was UNDERNEATH us." He emphasized. Marina was about to retort when a knock sounded at the door.
River Delta, desperate to get away from the 'debate', got up to answer the door. Upon answering, she saw an armored Hippogriff standing next to a smaller, younger looking one. The elder was blue all over, save the light blue accents around his talons and rear fetlocks along with the light to metallic grey mane and tail. The younger, a cream colored male, with blue green mane and tail that fell together to look like feathers.
"Good morning young mare. I'm Sky Beak of the Mount Aris Guard, and this is my son, Terramar. Would there happen to be a colt by the name 'Tide Pool' living here?" The hippogriff, Sky Beak began. "I'm here on orders from Queen Novo." He said, producing an official looking scroll.
"Who is it Delta?" Marina called to her daughter.
"Hippogriff guard looking for Tide. I guess he's in trouble." Delta said with a sly smirk. Right then, the older mare stepped into the foyer of the house and welcomed the two in.
"May I ask why you want to speak to my son?" Marina asked calmly.
"My son witnessed him out in a boat last night. I simply wish to know what happened, and make sure he's okay." Sky Beak reassured.
"You don't know about the sea monster?" Delta asked.
"Sea monster?" Terramar responded, tilting his head.
"Delta, one more word-" Marina began, but sadly wasn't quick enough.
"He claims he saw a Leviathan the past few days"
Sky Beak began to wonder just what he had gotten into.
~~~~***~~~~
My eyes felt heavy as they opened again. New day... My gut rumbled loud enough to be heard over the sounds of the glowing water. Great... Time to eat. Wonder where I should go... Can't stalk the reef too much or the Sea-Ponies would notice. Going to the land is no option either... only real option I guess is to dive deep. It's always so lonely down there... And I'm no fan of that fish with the tentacles... Squid I think they're called. Oh well. Gotta deal with it.
Swimming out into my tunnel, I noticed that disgusting, slimy fish had begun to eat the big fish I zapped last night. Oh well. Looking up at the surface, I notice it's turned grey. The light in the sky was still there, but behind the grey. Sure sign that the storm season is near. As quietly as I could, I made my way up the deep hole, and swam to the reef's edge. Looking down, I call to the deep, and listened.
There was plenty of life down there. When I called to the deep, and listened, I could always see what was down there. I don't understand why, but it's useful. Pointing my mouth straight down, I called again. There... way down there was a fish I knew well. They even tasted good. Guess there's my meal. Diving down into the dark waters, I moved slowly and quietly. Can't let these fish know I'm here.
Gently, I call out to the deep once more. The fish haven't moved much, so I dove deeper, and moved closer. Reaching out, I swam as fast as I could and bit down, hard on the fish. The fish struggled and tried to get away, but with each thrash, and twist, my teeth only dug deeper. Even the teeth on my fins bit into the fish's body. The taste of blood mixed with sea water began to fill my mouth. Pulling my head away, I rip a large piece of fish off and begin to eat.
The fish didn't last long. Honestly it wasn't all that filling. Calling out again, I find some more fish a bit further down, but upon a second call, I see they're being stalked by another fish... one bigger than me. Best not to hunt something else's prey. Swimming off, I continue to call into the cold, dark waters. Hm... not much worth going after. Maybe I should go up some.
Calling out, I see a bit more, but again, not much. The water isn't as dark anymore, but I continue to call... Still not much. Swimming around in large circles, I call. looking for more food. Nothing... odd. What could be around that spooked everything away?
Then it hit me. Literally. I'm suddenly grabbed by my middle by one of those large black and white air breathing fish that swam up and down like I do. This one had that tall fin in the middle of it's back. I swing my fins and even bite it, drawing blood, but it doesn't let me go. I need to remember that they almost never gave up. Biting hard, I concentrate. A twisting began in my gut as I cried out. My body began to glow with seaweed colored light. Then the twisting stopped; the large black and white fish let go, and began to float to the surface. Swimming up to it, I see it's eyes twitching. It's not dead, but it is stunned.
Looking down, I saw blood coming from my body. Great... Now all I need is a fish as big as me to smell that. I need to make my way back to my hole in the reef. Swimming back, I carefully tried to stop the bleeding. Not much I can do but let it heal on it's own. There's the reef's edge! Not much farther now... wait... What were all those boats doing around my hole? And... Sea-Ponies... Not good...
"Over there!" I hear one call. "It's over there!"
Well... Not good. I swim as fast as I can away from the Sea-Ponies. They follow without waiting a second. After an hour's chase, I see where the sea stops, except for one small spot. The water there tastes different, but It's not bad. It's also got a small current going back out to sea... Well, Swim up current it is! As I do, I hear a familiar sound; Sounds like that small land being from the night before.
"DON'T HURT HIM! LEVI!"
Author's Note
Once again, Please point out any grammar errors. If it seems to be moving too fast, let me know and I'll try to slow it down. I never really chart my stuff out and just go by what's in my head.
So, Our creature has been busted, and his home discovered... in a cornered panic, he swims upriver... just as fall/winter begins. Yes he's a sapient species, but nobody has ever bothered to get to know them. I tried to show that the young sea beast has... not had it easy. Also, Tide Pool gave him a name! Levi.
Edit: Don't expect a lot of speaking parts from the young leviathan until later in the fic.
The Thing Beneath the Waves
I swam. I swam as hard and as fast as I could, then swam some more. I don't know if that young pony told them about me or what, but it's too late. I needed to find a new hiding place, and soon. This bleeding is really making it hard... And leaving a trail for them to follow. Where does this water go anyway?
As I swam, I found a nice deep pool. Looks like it was carved out by the water itself. It seems to be constantly falling here... strange. I swim under the falling current of water, and climb up onto the stones behind it. Looking back, I hiss as the wounds the large fish left. Need to find a way to make that stop. Looking on the opposite side, I see that the stones opened up to another cave. As good a place as any for now, but... best to make sure I'm alone. Opening my mouth, I call out, into the darkness.
~~~~***~~~~
Tide Pool was distraught. He was worried this would happen. He just wanted to talk to the creature, and learn what he could. How did this... River Delta... It had to be! She always did feel entitled to what he worked his flank off for.
"Awww Did your little pet swim off? Too bad, So-" River never got any farther before Tide put his earth pony strength into a full buck, right to the side of his older sister's face. The slightly taller pegasus was only slightly knocked off her hooves and onto the ground. His parents couldn't believe their eyes.
"TIDE POOL!!" The young colt NEVER struck anypony before...
"You just had to get in the way, Didn't you? Do you have any idea what you've just done!?" Tide screamed, his voice starting to crack as his sister began to get up. The colt was having none of it. Using a forehoof, he punched her back down. "Every. Single. Time, something good happens to me, you BURN IT DOWN!" Blood was starting to drip from his sister's nose and mouth. She even coughed up a tooth.
"But this is bigger than both us! You probably just killed the LAST living Leviathan! YOU!" Tide continued to scream as his mother grabbed him. "Good job, you sorry excuse for a Whorse! You just committed MURDER!" That was it. Tide was slapped. Hard.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" His father yelled. "River Delta, Get your flank home, This instant!"
The young mare didn't need to be told twice. Suddenly afraid of her little brother, she galloped back to their house, shoving through the gathering crowd. Redwood then turned his attention to his still struggling son. Looking to his wife, While holding the strong young colt back, she was at a loss. He genuinely cared about this discovery.
"Ah, buck it." Redwood said before splashing a bucket of sea water onto his wife and son, who stopped thrashing almost instantly. "Sorry love." he apologized. "Now Tide, I know your upset, I get that. But you went overboard."
"She told them..." The colt shivered. "And now they're on a hunt... They don't know that they just wanted to be left alone. They're... He's... The last... " Tide began to finally break down. The crowd of ponies surrounding them began to chatter.
~~~~***~~~~
Listening to my calls, I didn't see any other creatures big enough to attack me, so I went deeper into the cave. Annoyingly, a sound was beginning to get annoying. A constant sound of drip, drip, drip. Why? Why was that sound happening!? Calling again, I didn't see anything causing it. Then I felt it. A drop of water on my head. Another, and another... I see. Water was falling from above me.
I called out again to see the rocks around me. Looks like this is where the cave ends... Climbing up the rocks, I learned right then that I can stick to them! Well... This just opened up a new way to escape. Maybe I can find where the water is coming from.
Climbing up, I find where the water was falling from and begin to dig. The rock here is.. loose. It begins to fall away as I keep digging, until the water above bursts through like a whale swimming into the air above. It doesn't stop amazingly,and keeps pouring through. Even making my small hole bigger. I don't know how long I waited before trying to crawl through the hole, but I did, and using both my tail, and fins, I make my way further up the current.
~~~~***~~~~
The crowd had been dispersed by the local guard regiment, and was assured that everything was okay.
"I'm going after him!" Tide declared, before trying to turn tail and follow the river up stream. However, he was stopped by an unlikely obstacle. The younger hippogriff from earlier.
"Not without me your not!" The cream colored hippogriff, Terramar said. "I think my dad, and Queen Novo have blown this Way out of the water, and need to slow down."
"Both of you are gonna stop this talk this instant!" Marina barked. "Neither of you know where this river goes! Now, Terramar was it?" She asked. After receiving a nod, Marina continued. "You're going home-"
"No." Came the voice of her husband.
"W-what? Are you seriously-?" Redwood was seriously going against her? "WHY?!"
"You saw it too hun. Almost half the town saw it swim upstream. Tide told the truth. There is one more Leviathan out there." He soothed. "He was right once, he's probably right now." Turning to his red-faced son, "Tide, calm down son. Deep breaths... Now... what's the plan?"
"I... I don't... I need a map... One with rivers!" Tide said, rushing off to the nearest cartographer, followed closely by Terramar, and his parents.
Upon gazing at the map, he followed the river that flowed through the middle of their town, Fetlock Harbor. Following the river with his hoof, he saw it ended at a moderately sized lake near the hamlet of Ponyville. If the Hippogriffs, and by extension the Sea-Ponies chased it all the way up stream, that's where they'd end up. It was easily a three day train ride. But following the river directly... It would take closer to a week and a half.
"My sister goes to school in Ponyville, at the Friendship University. I can write her and send it with priority mail. Let her know where coming, and what's what." Terramar offered. Before cheekily adding, "After I tell mom I'm going to visit sis..."
Marina was so far out of her depth. How did things go so wrong? This was just another Sunday, but then... It all fell apart. Her son had, correctly, discovered what is probably the LAST living leviathan, and his older sister, in a petty rivalry, reported his discovery to the hippogriffs and sea-ponies. Which then resulted in a sizable part of the hippogriff/sea-pony army swarming Fetlock Harbor, chasing an alleged sea monster up river...
~~~~***~~~~
These waters are strange... I don't understand them at all. There's no deep water to hide in, no large predators, and worse... it's cold. It's not bad, but it is bothersome. As I swim up, I notice a group of fish, and realize just how hungry I am. Using my front fins to hold on to the rocks beneath me, I swim forward and bite down on the largest one. I could practically swallow it whole! These fish aren't as big as the ones out at sea... I guess having only so much water keeps them from getting as big. Swimming further forward, I bite down on another, and another.
Before too long, I've eaten half the group. Best keep going. I can't afford to slack and wait for the Sea-Ponies to catch up.
~~~~***~~~~
Tide Pool earned himself quite the tongue lashing from his parents for attacking his sister the way he did. He wasn't surprised at all. He was actually more surprised by how lenient they were being. Turns out, his sister becoming a bully and focusing her efforts against him, had pushed him, and this latest act was the last straw. That was no excuse. Violence is never the answer, unless your given absolutely no choice. Tide had broken that and lashed out.
"Young stallion, are you listening?" His mother chastised, lifting his chin with her hoof.
"Yes, mom. I am. I am not right in attacking Delta. But she put another life in grave danger." Tide responded quietly.
"Yes. She did. And we'll work on a proper punishment soon enough." Redwood started. "You need to remember Tide. Your an Earth pony, and your sister's a pegasus. Your naturally stronger than her." He continued with his 'Dad' tone. Redwood looked torn. He was always proud of his son's accomplishments, but this had to be one bugger of a roller coaster for him. One day he's excited for getting his diver's license, next he's curious about what he may or may not have seen. Now that his discovery has been confirmed, his older sister goes and ruins everything.
When the colt was being 'interrogated' by Sky Beak, He tried so hard to omit some small details. Easy enough. But his sister couldn't keep her trap shut.
"Here's the plan Tide. When Terramar gets back, we're going straight to Ponyville, and from there, we can either wait, or follow the river. We got a life to save." Marina said confidently. "Tide, sweetie... I'm sorry I didn't believe you." She whimpered as she hugged her son. "I'm still mad at you for attacking your sister, and I'm furious with her for starting this whole mess. You gave it... him a name right? Levi was it? Why Levi?"
The butter colored colt was so torn right now he had no idea what to think. Yes, he was in a Canterlot Castle sized amount of trouble... but... His parents weren't punishing him? At least... Not yet.
"W-well... he's a Leviathan... I just figured I'd abbreviate it. Leviathan, Levi... Seemed simple and easy to remember." Tide calmly responded, watching as his father went up the stairs; Probably to his sister's room.
In said bedroom, a light blue pegasus was busy wiping up blood and streaked mascara. An ice pack sat slowly melting on the vanity desk. There was no knock; her door just opened, revealing her father. A most disappointed look on his face. She didn't bother turning to face him.
"I hope you realize what you've done, River Delta." Full name... not good. "And I don't want excuses. Why did you do it?" Redwood demanded.
"Why do you and mom play favorites?" Delta responded, her voice hitching.
"Where did that come from? We do not play favorites." Redwood stated.
"Tide gets good grades, he gets to go to do what he wants for a weekend. Tide wants to be a diver, you let him. Tide gets away with almost anything! Tide Pool this, Tide Pool that. And all I get is yelled at or grounded!" Delta began.
"Don't you dare raise your voice to me right now young lady!" Redwood barked back. "And Tide gets to do those things because he puts 110% into his efforts. He's a hard working colt. You used to be that way once. Then you got spoiled and lazy."
"What about when TIDE broke the cookie jar?" Delta asked
"He confessed. He owns his misdeeds. Sure he's made mistakes, but he owns up to it. Remember when he was playing ball in the yard with his friends, and they accidentally broke the window?" Redwood explained. "Tide Pool had been smart and saved his allowance. He paid for the replacement window after telling your mom and I what he did. As for his diving, he's been saving up for that all year."
River Delta sat, quietly. Her baby brother... all those times she thought she had tattled on him and he was getting off light... was it really because he owned up? The diving came out of her little brother's coin?
"I don't know where this entitled attitude came from River Delta, but it stops here and now. You honestly think we DON'T know about the parties? Or that colt from school?" Redwood growled. Watching his daughter carefully, he saw her wings twitch, and her ears begin to turn red in the mirror. "Tide tried to cover for you. But we've always known. We're not stupid, River Delta. Your actions today may have just cost someone their life. A life your brother was trying to help save. Your going to stay here. House Arrest. You go nowhere but school, and straight home."
Redwood let out a disappointed sigh, then turned to close his daughter's door. But not before leaving a quick 'Think about it'. As he walked down the hallway, Tide was walking up the stairs, tears streaking his face. When asked what was going on, Tide responded that he felt bad for attacking his older sister and wanted to apologize.
~~~~***~~~~
The day was beginning to fade. I needed to find a place to sleep, and soon. My wounds from that large air breathing fish were beginning to heal. I always did heal fast. The bleeding had almost stopped. Looking around, both underwater and above... There wasn't many choices. Heh, there were no choices at all. No form of shelter anywhere.
Deciding to swim further up current, I find a relatively deep pool, where the current is at it's weakest. Far from optimal, but it's deep... kinda. I settle in for what approaches as a cold night.
"CHOO!"
Great... those things again... they always show up when I'm cold. This is going to be a long night. Laying my head low, I make that gentle noise again. I still don't remember where I heard it, or why. But it was always calming. Always helped me sleep.
~~~~***~~~~
Terramar returned, with his mother of all beings. After a quick run down, Ocean Flow was quickly brought up to speed, and everyone, save River Delta, was at the train station, and boarding the train to Ponyville.
"Don't worry. Once we get there, Silverstream and her friends will help us." Terramar reassured, patting Tide Pool on the back. "She's one of the students of Princess Twilight, and the Elements of Harmony. If anything, we'll get alot more help than you expect."
"Maybe... I hope so. I don't know how long he's been out there, But I think he's been alone all this time..." Tide responded, his voice a mix of sadness and hope.
"What makes you say that?" Ocean Flow asked. Tide looked away from the window facing the river.
"The way he speaks. He said things like 'Storm Season' or 'Den'. He even said that most others just called him 'Monster'. So... going by that logic, He's lived along for who knows how long. Probably learned to speak by overhearing us." Tide explained.
The train conductor blew his whistle and gave a loud 'ALL ABOARD!'. The train doors were closed shortly after, and the express began to move out of the station, headed inland.
Author's Note
Did I over-do anyone's behavior? Was anything to over the top? Or not enough? I've said it before, I'll say it again. I'm flying by the seat of my pants. I have a general outline of what I want to happen, but the fine details... I tend to ask myself Cause/Effect questions trying to steer everything where I want it to go. If you don't like it, say so and I'll tweak it
The Thing Beneath the Waves
Both the air and the water keeps getting colder. Normally this isn't a problem for me, being able to dive deeper than the day light can reach. The deeper, the colder. But this is a new kind of cold; A cold I've never felt before. My movements become slow, even though I try to swim quickly. Even my body begins to shake... Not unlike that small sand colored pony from three dark cycles ago. I think I understand now. He was cold, and now I'm feeling the same.
Looking above the water, I notice some lights. It looks like that place the Sea-Ponies live in. SeaQuestria I think. All the same I need to keep my distance. Looking around, I notice a glow similar to what's in my cave on the opposite side of this water. Creeping slowly over to it, I crawl out of the water. I'm never bothered about breath when I'm in or out of the water. I can breath the same way whales and dolphins can, and the way fish do.
Making myself as small as I can, I make my way over to the glow. It's coming from some very fine grey dirt... Reaching out, I find it's giving out the same heat as my cave. Nowhere near the same amount, but it's still heat! Climbing up, I burrow myself under the dirt and settle in for a night's rest.
~~~~***~~~~
Tide Pool stood next to his mother as Terramar knocked on his sister's dorm in the Friendship U. Campus. His sister, Silverstream, was a hippogriff of very light pink, save her beak, talons, and hind hooves. her mane and tail a silver with sky blue streaks. Around her neck was a similar piece of pearl as Terramar and Ocean Flow. When Terramar mentioned that he needed her friends help, she quickly gathered her friends in her dorm.
"So, what's this big emergency?" The blue griffin, Gallus asked. Terramar looked over to Tide Pool. Inhaling deeply, The colt stepped forward.
"Last week, I was taking my Diver's Final; And while I was down in the reef near SeaQuestria, I accidentally discovered what is probably the last living Leviathan" Tide started. "The next day I went back out with my dad to see if we could find it again. And we did."
"Excuse me." A light blue changeling, Ocellus, spoke up. "But weren't the Leviathan hunted to extinction over twelve hundred years ago?" She asked, a look of confused curiosity covering her face.
"I don't know the details." Tide resumed. "But I do know he's a sapient creature. He spoke to us and told us to stay away from the sea until the winter ended."
"Don't you mean Sentient?" The seafoam green pony asked.
"Sentience and sapience are two different things." Ocellus began to explain. "Sentience is consciousness of emotion. All living things to some degree are sentient. Dogs, Lizards, Puckwudgies, et cetera. Sapience is capability of thought and intelligence. The ability to gain wisdom." She finished.
"Ahhh." the group said confidently.
"Yona curious. What is Levy-a-ton?" The yak, Yona asked.
"A giant sea creature. Anyway, I was about to start planning out how to talk to him when-" Tide resumed, before Terramar interrupted him.
"Before Dad and I went to his house. I was out on a night swim, and saw him fishing. He fell into the ocean. I saw something swim out of the Blue Hole in the reef. It watched as he and his pop were circled by a large Bull Shark, when a bolt of lightning came from the creature and hit the shark. I watched it drag their boat to them, shove them in, and swim into the boat."
"Yeah... that." Tide said. "When they came over the next day, My sister," The colt grumbled "Told your dad about the leviathan, and he over reacted."
"I completely agree." The elder hippogriff said. "Your father went straight to Queen Novo and scrambled a good piece of our military. Almost hysterically claiming that it's a mindless predator, bent on sinking ships and eating other creatures."
The six friends all looked to each other and began to speak among themselves. Some seemed skeptical. Namely Gallus and Ocellus. Silverstream seemed most enthusiastic. Sandbar, Yona, and Smolder, the off fire colored dragon, were just hesitant, unsure of what to do.
"We'll talk about it tonight, and get back to you in the morning." Sandbar offered diplomatically. "That work?" All the creatures turned to look at the young Tide Pool.
"As good as I can hope. We are on a time crunch. When Sky Beak got the Sea-Ponies riled up, the chased Levi upriver. That river ends at the lake just outside town. He should be here in a few days at most." Tide shrugged, before turning tail to leave. Young Tide wasn't going to hold his breath. Things like these had a tendency of not getting done. Leaving the dorm, he made his way to the hotel room his mother had rented. In the back of his mind, he kept hearing the cry of a Leviathan.
~~~~***~~~~
Waking up, I notice all the heat had faded and I was now just laying under a pile of grey dirt. Great. Looking up, I see that the normal blue in the sky had gone, and was now a dull grey. The storm season had officially begun. Shaking myself of the dirt, I wandered into the large plants and, uh... relieved myself. Quickly then, I dove back into the currents, and continued my swim. As I swam, I saw many fish I had never seen before. Plants that seemed both familiar, and alien. Deep waters, shallow waters, waters so shallow, I had to walk over the land to continue.
As I swam, I kept wondering why I had let this happen. I was so careful this time... What went wrong? Was it me? Was it those ponies? Did a Sea-Pony see me? I really wanted to know. As I wandered, I heard a loud rumble. It didn't come from my gut, no.. This came from above me. Looking up, water began to fall from the sky, and not in small amounts either. I wasn't in deep water so I couldn't just dive to escape. The current of water wasn't going to get deeper anytime soon.
Looking around, I notice a pony den... this one looking like it had been abandoned. It was better than nothing so I made my way in. The sky erupted in light, and sounded with a loud growl. The light for a moment lit up the den. It was certainly abandoned. Everything inside looking like it hadn't been touched or moved in a long time.
My ears twitched at the sound of the water hitting the land and the top of the den. It's rhythmic tapping was almost... peaceful, and calming. Reminds me of those times I'd swim out to a small island a-ways out to sea. I'd lay on the warm rocks and nap under the daylight; The sounds of the waves splashing against the rocks... It's enough to make one forget about their troubles, if only for a short while.
My gut rumbled loudly again, reminding me I still needed to eat. I like to think I was familiar with pony dens, as they like to put them on their large boats; And I had swim through and explored several that had gone to the sea bed. I knew they had little places to store certain things like food. My search seemed simple enough. Look through the little holes and see if any food was left behind.
During my search, I came across a room with lots of places for storage. Moving panel after panel, I had found various things. Most of which was inedible. Letting out a small snort, I kept looking. Then I opened a panel, and found small round things. I don't know what they were, but I saw what looked like a fish on the front, so I assumed fish must be inside. I found a few more of those things, and began to try and find a way to get at the fish inside.
The water outside continued to patter, with the occasional rumble. Jamming one of the teeth on my front fin into a flat part of the round object, I noticed it had pierced through. The smell of fish wafted into my nose. While not an unpleasant smell, it was rather bland. I began to tear at the round thing... I think I heard ponies call them 'cans'... I managed to tear enough off that I was able to get at the fish inside. Looking outside, I watch the water hit the ground, the grey sky slowly drifting.
I look down and began to eat. It wasn't flavorful fish by any stretch, but it was enough. After the third can, I felt a craving for something else. I felt like I needed to drink. Never really needed to do that before. While my body can soak up hydration from surrounding waters, I didn't want to step outside. Too much of a risk to expose myself like that. And the air currents add to how cold it is.
"CHOO!"
Like that... Anyway, I began to search this part of the den again. This time I found several 'containers' that were certainly filled with liquid! Opening one, my nose was attacked by a horribly disgusting smell. Whatever this contained had gone bad a long time ago. I kept up my search until I found another sealed container with what appeared to be a large, red fruit on it. Carefully prying it open, the smell this one gave off was a very nice smell. It's taste was just as nice. Not too obnoxious, but very sweet. The seal on this one seemed to keep the liquid very fresh.
After sating my hunger, I began to explore this den some more. Plenty of cozy places to use as a place to sleep. Opening a slightly opened panel I looked inside and... Here was another place for rest, but... not for me. On the soft padding, was a pair of bodies; Long rotted away to bones. One, had the shape of that small pony's father, with the extra limbs from the back. The other, had what appeared to be a spine sticking out of the head. They lay together, holding each other... I don't know which was male and the other female. There wasn't any way for me to tell.
I had a serious compulsion to leave this part of the den. Leave these two to their rest. I slowly backed out of the room, my head bowed. When I left, I closed the panel that I entered through, and turned to find a new place to rest. Settling down on the pads in the main cavern, and began to drift into a nap. The sounds of the rhythmic tapping outside, lulling me to sleep.
~~~~***~~~~
Tide, his parents, as well as Terramar and his mother, all sat at their table in the local diner for breakfast. Silverstream and most of her friends joined them.
"We'll help." Silverstream announced excitedly.
"What do we need to do?" The young dragon asked, crossing her arms.
Tide, as well as his family was genuinely surprised! Usually creatures acted first, asked questions later. Tide supposed Friendship U. really lived up to it's name.
"Would Princess Twilight and her friends be able to help?" Marina asked calmly. "We are talking about a significant amount of hippogriffs and Sea-Ponies. Just three adults, and seven foals, no offense meant of course, aren't going to do much."
"Ocellus has already gone to see Fluttershy about just that." Gallus said, his voice laced with impassiveness. "She and Fluttershy both have a thing for this."
"And he ain't wrong." A new voice sounded. Every creature turned, and saw the orange country mare, Applejack, standing a few yards away from them. "Which one o' y'all is Tide Pool?" she asked.
Tide stepped forward, suddenly unsure of himself.
"That would be me, Miss Applejack." Tide responded nervously.
Applejack looked the colt over carefully, a gentle smile on her face.
"Sugarcube, you don't gotta be nervous. Just tell the truth. Did you really see a sea monster?" Applejack began.
"No." Tide responded.
Applejack tilted her head, suddenly confused. Fluttershy had told her that a colt had met a sea monster, yet here he was, saying he hadn't.
"Levi isn't a monster. He's just another creature like yaks, griffins and sea-ponies." Tide growled, his face firm. His parents, unsure of what to do, watched their son. "He has done nothing wrong. It's us ponies and sea-ponies who labeled something we didn't understand as a monster." Redwood and Marina beamed. Tide may just be able to pull this off!
"That's very mature of you, Darling." A graceful, white unicorn added.
"Yeah. Just because a dragon is a dragon, that doesn't make them monsters." Added a smaller white unicorn.
Before too long, Even princess Twilight had arrived with her remaining friends, as well as another group, the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Tide had heard of the three young ponies from Terramar on the train ride over. Only when everyone was present did Tide tell his story; His parents adding to the story where it was needed, as well as Terramar.
"Goodness..." was all Fluttershy could say.
Twilight sat in thought. So, the legendary Leviathan was not only still alive, but probably down to the last of it's kind. Normally this story would be passed off as a foals imagination, but with several witnesses... The newest princess was unsure of what to do. The colt from the coast had even brought photographic evidence. While not blurry, the subject was far away.
"I'll be honest, Tide. I don't know what we should be doing..." Twilight began. "I can write a Canterlot Marine Biologist and have her review the evidence you brought. If your story checks out with her-"
"We're on too much of a time crunch. Levi and Queen Novo could be here any day now. We're talking about saving a life who as we speak is being pursued, just so he can be murdered in cold blood out of mindless fear." Marina growled, before realizing who she was talking to and settled back down. "I'm sorry princess. I may not have seen the young creature as clearly as my son and husband did, but I did see something unusual be chased upriver by Novo and her guards. My colt is no liar. If Tide says that was Levi, I have every reason to believe him."
Almost all beings present looked at Tide's mother as if she had temporarily grown a second head! It wasn't often someone had the guts to raise their voice to royalty. Twilight turned her head to Applejack, who had been watching the colt intensely since his story started. Applejack simply nodded in reply to the unspoken question.
"Very well. I can have her here by tomorrow, and we can try and at least stall Novo. Last thing we want, or need, is a war." Twilight sighed. "I honestly still have reason to doubt it... but, I have seen things that challenged conventional beliefs."
"Nightmare Moon, Pony of Shadows, Mirror Pool, things like that." The bouncing pink pony, Pinkie Pie offered. "If it was an old mare's tale, it's probably true."
Twilight summoned up a scroll and quill, and began to write; Dictating aloud to any who cared to listen. Before long, she had her purple dragon, Spike, send it off to the Canterlot Oceanographic society. With a sigh, Twilight began to ponder what to do next.
~~~~***~~~~
I found myself awake when the sounds of the water had stopped. Looking up, I see that the daylight had mostly gone. Time to get moving... I've used too much time sleeping... I need to get moving. Hopping up, I move as quickly, and quietly as I can, back into the waters, and move up current. The water here still isn't too deep, and the air is getting colder by the moment.
My movements continue to get slower, but I can't stop. It's only a matter of time...
"CHOO!"
"I heard something!" A voice calls out. Well tuna fish... spent way too long sleeping.
"Yeah! Sounded like a sneeze." Another voice replies. My breath quickens and I force my body to move faster. Before long, I find myself back in some deep water, and keep moving up current. I miss my warm cave...
Author's Note
Sentience and Sapience are quite often confused. Most people often use Sentience where sapience is more appropriate, and vise-a-versa.
Funny enough, the scene in the cabin, was inspired by watching a compilation video on the eating and drinking animations from Escape from Tarkov.This one specifically.
Again, Levi has had little to no contact with a civilized source of knowledge. All he knows is what he's picked up. So he naturally wouldn't know what a 'Room' or 'House' is, let alone cabinets or bottles.
Constructive criticism again, is always welcome.
The Thing Beneath the Waves
I swam hard, and as fast as I could. Last day, I learned how much of a mistake I made in sleeping too much. Now she Sea-ponies are practically right behind me. I don't even have time to stop and eat! My gut grumbles loudly again, but there's nothing I can do about it.
"Hey there sea-beast! I can't wait to mount your body in the Main Hall!" A sea-pony growls in front of me, holding a 'spear' I've heard them referred to, aggressively. I may be cold, hungry, and tired, but I'm still not defenseless. Lifting my jowls, and exposing my teeth, I open my mouth and let out the loudest call I can make. The water between he and I seems to shake as the sea-pony drops his spear and holds his ear holes with his fins. I see through the shaking, that blood seems to come from his ears. Ceasing my call, I swam past his shaking body.
"Sweet mako that was loud!" A voice yelled from behind me. "What was that?"
"I think that was our sea monster." Another voice replied. "Where's our scout?" it asked.
I can't stop swimming... Even once the day has turned to night, I can't stop. I even find myself eating on the move. I can't stop moving. Stopping means death.
"Gotcha!" I hear a sea-pony, no. A hippogriff. He's got me by my tail and is trying to pull me out of the water. "Novo's gonna love this!"
The twisting in my gut began again, building quite quickly. Letting out a call, the twisting stops, and the hippogriff yells out in pain, only to fall into the water with me. Moving my tail, I slap him in the face. My body is growing more and more tired from this... It's going to slow down... I see the surface of the water is beginning to turn hard. The water is always coldest right near those spots of solid water. Another sea-pony splashes down in front of me, spear ready.
I'm too close to stop and call to him, and it's too late to make the shocks. Thrusting my tail as hard as I can, I swim right into the green sea-pony, teeth barred. I bit into him as hard as I can right under the fin holding the spear, drawing lots of blood. He screams loudly in pain, and tries to use his spear against me. He never got a good stab, but he came close enough to draw some of my blood. Looking up from him, I see a wall of rock, and swim forcing him into the rocks as hard as I can force.
Swinging my fins at him, the teeth on the edges dig into his flesh, drawing more blood. He struggles as hard as he can to get out of my bite, and the more he struggles, the worse it gets. Next thing I know, it's not a sea-pony in my mouth, but a hippogriff. The teeth on his front fins bite into my flesh, but he can't last long in that body. That body needs air from above the water. It was only a short while before he scrambled out of my jaw. I let him go, and continue to swim.
~~~~***~~~~
Tide wandered the school of friendship. waiting on the marine biologist to arrive was proving to be a boring, and time consuming endeavor. He decided to sit in on 'Professor' Fluttershy's class, talking about ocean life of all things today.
"And so the Remora eat the parasites off the shark, making sure the shark is healthy, and in return, the shark doesn't eat them. Another beautiful symbiotic relationship in nature." Fluttershy explained, a wistful look flashing in her eye. "Oh, hello Tide Pool. Care to share with us some things you've seen out in the seas?" She asked.
The sandy colt was suddenly nervous. He hated it when his teachers called on him back at school, and preferred to get his good grades in quiet; Through extra credit reports and personal studies.
"C'mon dude, you got this." Sandbar cheered, quickly followed by other class members.
Tide stood up from the desk in the back, took a deep breath, and began.
"Have you spoken about the familial bonds of the pods of whales or dolphins?" Tide asked.
"Honestly, I know more about the animals and beings out here." Fluttershy replied honestly. "I don't know that much about the sea, but your 'Project' inspired me some for today's lesson. So anything you could offer would be lovely."
Tide looked contemplative, then settled it.
"Did anyone know that Dolphins are some of the smartest animals in the world?" Tide started. When almost no-one raised a hoof, claw or other appendage, save Silverstream, he continued. "Dolphins, amazingly are. They're just a few steps away from being able to create a whole civilization. The pods and family groups they form, are not unlike our ancient pony tribes from way back when." When Tide could talk about the sea, he never complained. To him, the sea was a second home in a way.
"Dolphin, and even whale pods form around a matriarch. The males, or bull offspring will never leave the pod, or their mother. Instead, the females, or cows, however, will travel and pick a new pod. Keeps the genetic pool open instead of inbreeding." The colt was suddenly in his element. He knew the sea. "It's a life long bond that Marine biologists with all the science and magic in the world still don't understand, and maybe won't within several lifetimes."
Several students raised their hooves.
"Yes, green changeling, third row?"
"Are there any hive like creatures in the ocean?" The changeling asked curiously.
"I don't think so. If there are, we haven't seen them. There are plenty of creatures that live symbiotically with each other though. As Fluttershy said, there's the Remora, Pilot fish and sharks, certain types of anenomies and fish, but the most interesting has to be Pyrosomes. They're literally hundreds to thousands of genetically similar life forms, or clones for a simpler term that form and live together as one colonial being. Some have been found to be twice as long as this room, and are typically found in the deep sea." Tide explained, drawing on the chalk board.
~~~~***~~~~
These Sea-ponies just don't give up! They seem to slow down when in the dark... But at this moment I can't slow down. Another sea-pony comes from the air above, trying to slash at me with a claw, only to find his fin in my mouth. He screamed as I bit down, hard. I felt something in his fin break, and he screamed louder. Letting go, I look him in the eye and screamed.
"Why can't you just leave me alone!?"
The Sea-pony looked stunned as I swam past. I needed to find a place to hide. I'm getting tired of this... and just tired... I need to rest... and eat. The waters here kept changing. From deep and slow, to shallow and fast. If I'm lucky, maybe I can find another wall of water that I can hide behind.
The Sea-ponies seem to have stopped chasing me... for now... I always get found. Ow... my body is screaming in pain... Can't stop swimming.
I manage to find myself a nice deep hole to hide in. I can't afford to wonder what made it... Maybe I can rest during the light, and move in the dark...
Yes... I think I can pull that off... Now... to just... rest.
~~~~***~~~~
Tide was wandering by the lake near Ponyville, knowing that within days, Levi would arrive, with Novo and a small Sea-pony/Hippogriff army right behind him... The colt needed to put together a strategy.
"So, what's the plan Tide Pool?" The seafoam green earth pony, Sandbar asked.
"Yeah. How are we gonna stop Novo?" asked Smolder, punching her fists together, huffing out smoke.
"I don't know..." Tide answered, not looking up from the water. "They should be here in a few days but... I don't know how to stop them."
"If it makes you feel any better, Twilight took a contingent of guards with her to meet with Novo and try to stall her, if not stop her outright." The smaller purple dragon, Spike responded, unsure if he was helping the colt's mood.
"What?!" almost everyone responded.
"Yeah. Turns out, that Novo is technically invading equestrian territory, and that if she keeps it up, she could start a war." Spike said. Silverstream and Terramar suddenly looked nervous. "I doubt it'll go that far though." He amended.
"Let's hope so..." Tide said, staring out to the sunset.
~~~~***~~~~
I open my eyes slowly, and see that it has gotten dark. Good. I don't hear any Sea-ponies nearby. My gut aches from not having eaten in some time. Swimming out of the hole, I swim on. Maybe I'll find something to eat along the way. Lifting my nose above the top of the water and into the air, I take a breath, and smell... lots of strange new things. I never smelled any of this when I got close to the land pony dens...
Looking above, I see the silver light come from the sky. To one side of the water, is near endless grass. Not very appetizing, but edible. To the other, larger plants that block out the silver light. I watch as an animal wanders out of the plants and to the water. It seems to be red in color. It stops be the water's edge, and leans down to... drink I guess.
My gut wont let this opportunity go. Using my fins instead of my tail, I slowly move closer to the animal. It doesn't seem to notice me. I'm practically right under it's face. Exposing my teeth, and twisting the inside of my gut, I thrust myself up and out of the water, grabbing the animal by the neck and pulling it into the waters. Once it's inside, I release the twisting, and the small animal stops moving. It's not even twitching.
I twist and hold the small animal. It's body rips apart under my efforts, and I begin to eat. I ate until all that was left was fluff, some guts and bones. Feeling suddenly full, I swim further up current.
I repeated this pattern of hide in the light, and swim in the dark for the next two cycles... seeing very little of the sea-ponies. Some part of me wonders what happened to them, but I shouldn't think some things. Last time I did, they found my hole.
The top of the water continues to get solid as the cycles go by, with both the air above, and the water below get colder. I've never felt water this cold. Not even in the deep sea did it get this cold... at least as deep as I went. My body continues to shake and shiver; And get slower. If I go any slower, I'll be easy prey for those sea-ponies. The silver light above guides me through the water, but the surface keeps getting solid.
The current seems to slow with me... Until a spear from a Sea-pony is thrust through my gut. Letting out my loudest scream, both in pain, and defense, I get him off of me. My gut is bleeding more than I've ever seen. More spears are moving towards me at amazing speed. Some biting at me, others missing, some hit me directly. Turning and swimming as fast as I can up current, despite my chills, I see what appears to be a large body of water.
The Sea-ponies suddenly stop chasing me for some reason. Swimming into this large water, I notice a lot of sea grass, and plenty of places to hide... my gut is complaining in pain... both from hunger and pain. I swim around the water, looking for another way out. I can't find one.... I CAN'T FIND ONE! I'm trapped... I... I can't do this anymore... I curl my body up near a rock, lick my wounds... I can't stop the bleeding...
I can feel my body start to fade... Black starts to fade into my vision. I hear a faint ringing in my ears... Then I hear what sounds like splashing, and voices... Looking up... I see... The sandy pony from earlier... only hes a sea-pony, and with three other sea ponies!
Uncurling and showing my teeth, I growl.
"I may be hurt... and tired... But I will take you with me!"
"Levi! It's me! Tide Pool! We met at the sea, remember? You saved me and my pa from a shark." The sandy sea pony said, scared.
"Tide Pool is a land pony... You may look like him, but-
"That would be because of us. We sea-ponies can turn land ponies into sea-ponies for a short time. My name's Terramar. I'm a friend." The sea-pony said to me. How do I know they're telling the truth?
"If we were really going to hurt you Levi, we would have done so already. We're gonna take you somewhere safe. Get you a doctor." 'Tide Pool' claimed.
"How do I know your speaking true?" The youngest sea-pony responded by holding out a fin gently to me, My vision fading more.
"You're just gonna have to trust me, friend." He said with a smile. I have little choice... Go with him... or don't... I find myself to weak to move. The next thing I feel is fins grabbing mine, and gently pull me up to the surface.
Looking up through the tunnel of black, I see a swirling, then the smallest sea pony became the tiny land pony I saved those cycles ago. So he told the truth. Looking around, I see lots of creatures. from land ponies, to horned ponies, It's a varied as the reefs! I suddenly notice something... A hippogriff flying right at us... with a spear. The rest right behind him.
Showing my teeth to the sky, the only sound I can make is a hissing noise. I lower my front, and raise my tail. I don't know why but my body just acted. All the creatures look where I do, and either begin to run and scream, others get aggressive.
"NOVO!" A purple pony yells. "I ALREADY TOLD YOU TO TURN BACK!"
"Princess Twilight, that beast there must be exterminated" The hippogriff said in reply. "His kind were a menace to the seas a milenia ago. If we let that one grow, it will become a menace again."
"Only because they were attacked!" Tide Pool yells, stepping beside me. I begin to feel dizzy, and start to wobble. When I do, I see another hippogriff... one with a bandaged leg, holding a spear. I watch as he takes to the air. I don't think the ponies noticed...
My vision has gotten so dark it's hard to focus... The ponies have begun to yell at the hippogriffs... The one hippogriff... He flies to me as fast as he can, landing next to me, and plunging his spear into my body. I Let out one last, loud scream, but I'm not the only one who's screaming. I feel the spear jerk, and see the hippogriff hit the ground, landing next to him was a smaller sky pony.
"Tide! BROTHER!" The sky pony screamed, as I fall to a deep sleep. My body too weak to keep going anymore.
Author's Note
I am trying to be as accurate to actual marine biology as possible. Dolphins, really are right behind humans in how smart they are. The only other animal that comes close is Chimps. And pyrosomes really are the largest colonial animal in the sea, with the largest called an Apolemia, and has been measured at several hundred feet long(when stretched out, since they form a giant spiral with the outermost ring, being over 150 ft long)
Sorry for the late update. What with it being Thanksgiving(or some time close to), along with an IRL project that I'm super stoked to finish. I will most likely post a video to my Youtube/Rumble/Full30 accounts, with links to my Parler when it's done.
I wanted to play this chapter out more, but I'm not good at filler. Sorry.
The Thing Beneath the Waves
"Queen Novo... What you and your hippogriffs have done equate to an act of war." Twilight growled, staring Novo in the eyes. while she may not stand as tall, her power radiated her authority.
"I don't think you understand Princess-" Novo began, before promptly being cut off
"No. You let old prejudices cloud your judgement." The purple alicorn began. "Did you ever stop to think about what your doing? No. Tide Pool, The colt who found your 'monster', has said repeatedly that he was a sapient species. When we brought him in to the medical examiner, he was still mumbling complete words and sentences!" She angerly stamped.
"You chased an innocent, and sapient species through Equestrian territory, with intent to harm and kill. For that alone, I should see you ejected from these lands. I should declare this an act of war and terror." Twilight barked.
"When princesses Celestia and Luna hear of this-"
"Celestia and Luna have since retired from the throne. I am Equestria's sole ruler at this moment. You'd know that if you weren't to busy getting a kelp wrap, and payed attention to current events." The young princess continued to growl. "Now because of your subjects actions, under YOUR orders, One of my ponies is seriously hurt, a creature near extinction is in critical condition. Said creature came to Equestria seeking asylum at great personal risk, And I am granting it. This conversation is through. I expect you and your hippogriffs to be on your way back first thing in the morning."
Queen Novo was livid. Princess Twilight was helping a sea monster?! This would never have happened is Celestia was still here.
"Aunt Novo?" Came a small voice. Turning around, She saw Terramar.
"Ah good. Terramar. Pack your stuff. We're lea-"
"No." Terramar interrupted. "I'm not going back with you."
"I beg your pardon?" Novo asked as if she had just been slapped.
"You ALWAYS say we should 'be one with the sea'... Killing off creatures that live in the sea is NOT being one with it... If your hypocrisy is required to be one of the next in line for the throne, find someone else." He said, tears streaming down his face, before joining a disappointed looking Silverstream and her friends.
"C'mon little brother. Let's go see how Tide Pool is doing." Silverstream offered.
~~~~***~~~~
Tide felt numb. He lay in his hospital bed, stitches on both sides of his barrel. When that hippogriff's spear went through Levi, it accidentally pierced him too. He about passed out from the pain alone. Looking to his side, he noticed his family, Redwood, Marina, even his sister River Delta, all sleeping together on the couch set aside for them. They looked like they had been crying.
Sandbar then gently opened the door, and saw Tide. Looking to the side, he noticed Tide's sleeping family, and motioned for those behind him to keep quiet.
"How you holding up little dude?" Sandbar asked quietly.
"Numb from painkillers." Tide responded.
"Who pegasus that kicked hippogriff in head yesterday?" The yak, Yona asked.
"My older sister... River Delta... Don't know when she showed up..." Tide wheezed. He looked over at his family wistfully. The changeling, Ocellus spoke up.
"She probably came in on the train yesterday. I picked up alot of fear and love from her. Right now though... there's the love, yes, but it's tainted with regret."
"Regret?" Smolder asked. "Why regret?"
"Because she's the one who told Novo, and started this whole thing... because she was jealous of me." Tide answered calmly. Yawning, he reached over to his bedside table for the glass of water for a drink. "Did you guys see Levi?"
"Sorry but no. The doctors won't let anyone near him. Especially us sea-ponies. They converted the school pool into a sea water pool just for him." Silverstream answered.
"What all was wrong with him?" Tide asked.
"Multiple stab and impalement wounds that were bordering on fatal. Exhaustion, hypothermia, and hunger to name a few." Smolder listed off. "Last I heard he was in the warmed up pool recovering." Tide let out a relieved sigh.
"Thank Celestia."
"Oh good. You are awake." Princess Twilight said with a smile. "Hello everyone. Now, Tide Pool, I'd like to apologize for doubting you. You came to me and my friends asking for help to save something... someone we thought to be legend. As soon as your able, we can take you to see him once he's woken up." She said, placing her hoof on his.
"What about the hippogriffs?" Tide asked nervously.
"Don't worry about that right now. You have done nothing wrong, And Novo's guards wouldn't dare go near my school right now." Twilight assured. "Your medical expenses have all been paid off. When the doctors discharge you, feel free to come by the school. I'll take you to your friend."
A guard suddenly burst through the door, startling everyone to full alertness, and waking the three sleeping ponies.
"Princess! He's woken up."
~~~~***~~~~
Wha... Why am I... Where am I? Last thing I recall was being hurt... then... Why am I here? Looking around, I notice wrappings all over where I've been hurt... Did... did someone help me? Was it that little land pony Tide Pool?
"Send word to Princess Twilight that he's woken up." A voice calls from above me. Oh great... Am I someone's plaything now? A nearby splash gets my attention as I rapidly turn to face the splash. A Sea-pony!
"Easy there, Levi. My name is Ocean Flow, and I'm trying to help you." She said, slowly swimming up to me. Out of my control, my body makes itself bigger, and I hiss at her.
"Calm down please. I know you have no reason to trust our kind, and you have every right to be angry. I don't hold that against you." She kept trying to calm me. The closer she swam, I swam that much further away.
"Levi... please. I'm only trying to help." she begged, no longer trying to approach me.
"Why should I believe you speak truth?" I hiss, not taking my eyes off her.
"Because I haven't attacked you, I'm not armed, and I'm talking to you." She plainly said. "Now please calm down and let me help. Your surrounded by Equestrian guard, sworn to protect you. You. Not me."
Looking around, I notice she's telling the truth. A lot of land ponies, who look ready to fight, all staring and me and the Sea-pony. I'm still not sure about this... But... I guess I have little choice. Instead of swimming up to her, I slowly use my fins to crawl up to her. My eyes never leaving her.
"I am sorry for what my kind have done to you. It should never have happened." She told me. I didn't respond... I didn't know how... "My son Terramar helped Tide Pool pull you out of the lake you know."
"Your... son?" What was a 'son'? There was suddenly a bunch of splashes, a wooshing noise, and alot of land ponies grumbling in annoyance. Looking up, I suddenly see alot more Sea-Ponies. In a burst of panic, I swim to the opposite side of the body of water I'm in, and begin to hiss some more.
"Goodness!" Ocean Flow cried.
"What's his problem?" And orange looking fish asked.
"When you've been chased and hunted all your life, how would you feel?" A sand colored Sea-pony asked. He sounded familiar...
"Tide Pool?" I ask.
"Heh, You remembered. Or was it the bandage?" He said with what sounded like joy.
Looking him over, It certainly was the same little pony. Why did he need the bandage though?
"What is a bandage?" I ask him calmly. He turns and shows me a white wrap around his middle.
"When that hippogriff impaled you, it went through you and into me. I... I'm sorry..." The little pony explained. I tilted my head and wondered why he said that. "What happened to you. All of... This." He said, pointing a fin at my body. It was covered in a similar wrap that he had... but mine was all over my body.
"Don't. Don't say sorry." I told him. "Why are there so many sea-ponies in here? Where even am I?"
"May I answer those?" A purple sea pony said, slowly swimming up to me, stopping a good distance away when my teeth began to show. When I made no move, she began. "I am so sorry, to start. Now then, I am Princess Twilight Sparkle. Your in my personal school's swimming pool. I do apologize again, but no doctor knew how to operate on you, so we had to get a marine veterinarian." I had no idea what some of those words meant.
"Does this make me your plaything now?" I hiss at her.
"Absolutely not. Your not a prisoner, prey or however you see it. This is just a place we set up for you once we realized you needed the water." She explained. "Gills and lungs... such a wonderful adaptation. May I come closer?"
I gave her a slow nod and watched her every move.
"Now then, As per why the sea-ponies, It's a magic special to them. They can change between Hippogriff and Sea-pony at will, with the help of a special pearl." She explained to me as she moved closer. "I had this pools salinity changed to match that of the ocean and raised its temperature to better match the warmer waters you came from. You have my word, that no-one here is going to harm you." She finished.
"You can trust her Levi." Tide encouraged me. I still wasn't too sure. Keeping my distance, I decide to peek above the surface. Oddly enough... I don't see any creatures, aside from the Land ponies in yellow. I was definitely inside one of their dens, but this one was massive. I even heard voices that sounded... happy.
"Fascinating..." I hear from beneath me. It was that 'Twilight' Pony. Diving back down, I'm still unsure of what she wants from me. "Anyway... We just came by to make sure your doing okay. Please, feel free to ask anyone up there if you need anything. I hope you don't mind, but I had a friend of mine go out to find you some sushi."
"Sushi?" I ask, giving her a strange look.
"Oh. Sushi is a type food. Specifically fish, kelp, that sort of thing. Maybe even some Calamari." She explained to me. I tilt my head at that last one. "Calamari is a type of squid." Another head tilt. "You know, long pointy body, lots of tentacles?"
"Is that what they're called? I was never a fan of it. I only ate it when I really needed to." Looking up to the surface, I begin to wonder what it's truly like up there. I suddenly feel a fin against me.
"If you want to go up there, we can. It's safe. Promise." Tide Pool said, gently smiling at me. "It'll be easier to eat anyway." He swam over to the younger Sea-pony, Terramar, and the whole group left the waters. Looking over at Twilight, I finally ask what's on my mind.
"Why help me?"
"Because, you needed help. You just didn't know how to reach out." She told me plainly, with a smile. With that, she left me alone.
Settling myself back at the bottom of the 'pool', I watch as the sea-pony slowly swims back up to me. I relax as she calmly, and gently pokes, prods, and checks my body over.
~~~~***~~~~
"Princess Twilight, Queen Novo is demanding you see her, again, immediately." A guard said calmly. Twilight exasperatedly rolled her eyes.
"Did she say what she wanted?" She asked calmly, rubbing her mane with a towel.
"Only that 'you're harboring a sea monster that must be destroyed, and if you don't turn it over-" The guard began before Twilight held up a hoof, silencing him.
"I've about had it up to here-"She began, holding her hoof up to her chin. "with her. Fine. My castle, in one hour. And if she keeps up with this 'sea monster' horseapples, She and her guard are to be escorted back to the border. Immediately. Understood?"
"Yes Ma'am." The guard saluted, and turned to the school entrance.
Twilight sighed in annoyance. Turning, she saw her replacement head mare, Starlight Glimmer.
"Do I want to know why you have guards at the pool?" Starlight asked, a sly smile on her face. Twilight chuckled.
"What do you know about sea legends?" She asked.
"Not much. Couple of pirate legends here and there, fisherpony tales, that sort. Why?" She responded. It wasn't often Twilight got so roundabout, and cryptic.
"There's a living sea legend in there right now." Twilight answered. "I just got done speaking to him. He's very skittish so it's best you don't bother him." she warned.
"What kind of sea legend are you talking about?"
"The Leviathan. Probably the last of his kind." Responded the young alicorn.
"So THAT's what the commotion was yesterday at the lake. What's the story?" She asked, suddenly interested.
"That's not my story to tell. You'll just have to be patient. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to deal with Queen Novo whining her feathers off about our guest." Twi grumbled. A heart beat later, There was a new ruckus at the school entrance.
"Lemme in! I need to see him! It's for SCIENCE!" Came a female voice.
~~~~***~~~~
"Okay, that should be all. You're healing at a remarkable rate, but It's best if you keep resting for a while. Your food should be here momentarily." Ocean Flow said to me, trying to sound comforting.
"I... guess the words are... thank you." I say quietly. "But... why help me?" I ask her.
"Because Novo is wrong about you. The legends claiming your kind to be heartless monsters who attack our ships are wrong. You, yourself have done nothing wrong, and so, you deserve to be helped." She explained, slowly swimming to the shallow side of the pool. Looking up she smiled. "Your food is here. Would you like to come out of the water? The air up there is as warm as the harbor in summer." She assured.
Slowly, I swim my way over, waiting for her to leave the water before crawling out myself.
"Hey there!" Came a raspy voice near Ocean Flow. "So your the guy Twi asked me to get Sushi for. We weren't sure what you'd prefer so I brought a selection." She said, showing me a variety of... what appeared to be food.
"What is it again?" I ask carefully.
"Sushi, dear. It's a mixture of Fish, kelp, rice, shrimp, and since you said your no fan of squid, I'll take that." Ocean flow explained to me.
"Split it with you." The strange pony said, her color, a sky blue with rainbow on both ends of her body. "Name's Rainbow Dash. What's Yours?" She asked me.
"Uhm... L-Levi... I guess." I answer, unsure of how close she's getting to me.
"Back up Rainbow, He's still nervous, and recovering." Ocean said to her. She picked something up off Rainbow's back, and placed it on a nearby 'table' I think it's called. Climbing up an item I had overheard land ponies call 'beach chairs', I get a look at the 'Sushi'. It smelled different, but certainly smelled edible.
Reaching out if my clawed fins, I pick up a piece, and begin to eat. Some tasted strange, but it was all pretty tasty.
"What fish is this?" I ask, holding up a new piece of the same fish.
"Tuna" Ocean flow said. "Big open sea fish, narrow fins, blue and yellow in color." She described. I nodded, understanding. As I continue to eat, I find what appears to be kelp, wrapping small white grains and other plants. Before I can ask, Ocean answers. "Sushi Roll. The white stuff is rice, the green is cucumber, and Salmon. There's a few spices in there too to liven up the taste."
Nodding, I continue to eat. All falls quiet for now. Before long, the food is gone, and I find myself asking if there was more to eat out there. The smaller one, Rainbow, smiled.
"I can probably hook you up with something." She said, turning to leave. Laying myself down on the beach chair, which was amazingly comfortable, I begin to fall asleep again.
Author's Note
One thing I don't know is the taste of sushi. I was never a fan of fish as a whole. But Abalone.. Oh sweet baby Jesus abalone is SOOOO good. Especially fresh out of the sea. The farmed stuff is nowhere near as tasty. No comparison.
Yes I know Tide Pool is minimal in this chapter, that will be addressed in the next one; Where I will also finally give details on our young friend.
The Thing Beneath the Waves
Seven: Interview with the Beast of the Sea
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.
The Thing Beneath the Waves
Tide grumbled in sheer, absolute, boredom. Being stuck in hospital observation with next to nothing to do was really starting to get on his nerves. None of the books really appealed to him, the food, while healthy, was incredibly bland. His saving grace from 'death by boredom' was his sister showing up.
"Hey bro." She began. "I got those notes you asked for." She held out his new notebook, which he eagerly took. "I know I already said I'm sorry but-"
"Sis... I'm not mad anymore, but I am still disappointed. But for the record, I forgive you." He said, looking into her eyes. "How's Levi holding up?"
"He's alright. Seemed a little annoyed at the doctors poking and prodding at him though." She smiled. Tide, for his part, smiled as well.
"I don't blame him. The docs here are still trying to figure out why I have super charged healing." Tide grumbled. "When he looked at me yesterday, he said this kind of wound takes a minimum of eight weeks to heal, and that I was at what should be week 3. Today, I'm at week 5! It's only been fifteen hours!"
"Sweet Luna... " Delta gasped. "Do you think it might be permanent?"
"I sincerely hope not... I don't want to be a freak of nature." Tide sighed gently to calm himself. "Thanks, sis. I was almost positive that you'd just, throw another party back at the house."
"My friends tried to talk me into it... but... I realized how much you mean to me little bro." Giving Tide a hug, she continued. "And how badly I messed up." Delta leaned in to nuzzle her little brother. "Maybe you can teach me some stuff about the ocean next summer?" The though alone gave Tide a smile.
"Definitely."
The sound of the door opening, startled the two siblings. The doctor walked in, calmly, reading his clip board. Looking up, he gave the two siblings a smile.
"Okay, Sorry Tide Pool, but I got to look under your bandages again. And I may need another blood sample." He explained, walking up to the young colt.
"What's wrong with my blood doc?" Tide asked.
"Nothing at-" The doctor began, before being interuppted.
"If it was nothing, you wouldn't have drawn my blood five times in twenty hours. What's wrong?" Tide grumbled. The doctor grumbled. Usually on adolescent ponies, a comforting lie was sufficient to placate them. This colt was clearly to smart for that. Must be a prodigy in school.
"Okay. Something has gotten into your blood and has accelerated your healing. I'm trying to get samples at various stages of healing to try and figure out what it is." He explained, calmly. The two siblings looked at each other, each with concern on their face. Without interruption, the doctor checked the wound. "Remarkable, yet frightening." He said quietly.
"More blood?" Tide asked plainly.
"I'm afraid so." replied the doctor. "You know, it occurs to me, I know your name, but you don't know mine. I'm Doctor Stable."
"Pleasure, doc." Tide responded in kind. He felt the pinch of the needle sinking into his skin again. Looking to his sister, She had apparently blanched at the sight of blood flowing into the vial. "You okay there sis?"
"S-sorry... Just... the sight of blood makes me... urp!" She suddenly flew out of the room to the nearest restroom.
"Huh... Didn't know seeing blood did that to her." Tide remarked. "That a common thing?"
"Patients being sick at the sight of blood?" Doctor Stable asked.
"Yeah? You see that alot?"
"You'd be surprised. It's usually Unicorns that are hematophobic, but it's not that uncommon." He explained.
Tide continued to sit, patiently. Until an(admittedly pretty) Earth pony nurse stepped in.
"Excuse me doctor?" She started. "Tide here has a new guest."
"His mother?" Doctor stable guessed.
"Actually, It's - " She said, before the guest made their voice heard.
"If I have to wait, I will." Came a familiar tone from outside the room.
"P-Princess Celestia!?" The doctor gasped. "P-please, do come in!" He said, before quickly bowing.
"Please don't do that. I'm retired, and no longer your ruler. I'm just 'Celestia. Please." The sun alicorn explained. "And I'd like a word with Tide Pool, in private if that is okay?"
"Oh! Of course ma'am. I'm just wrapping things up." The doctor said, a bit too quickly.
Tide simply sat still. Awaiting whatever came next. Before too long, Doctor Stable, and his nurse both left the room, leaving Tide Pool alone, with the former ruler.
"Good morning Tide." She began. "I've heard you rediscovered a lost species?"
"Yes, I did. By accident, but yes." He responded.
"Tell me everything." Celestia said, as she sat next to his bed.
"Well... It all started about... A week and a half ago..."
~~~~***~~~~
"For the LAST. TIME. NOVO. I am not giving in!" Twilight shouted, the canterlot voice echoing in her throne room. "This young leviathan has done nothing wrong, and does NOT deserve the actions you wish upon him!"
"It's not about what he HAS done, but what he WILL do!" Novo shouted back. Twilight pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. She got better arguments from brick walls.
"Like what?! Swim by and disturb your Spa day? Snore too loudly? Your acting like a petulant foal Novo, And I'm about at my wits end." Twilight growled.
"Is this a bad time?" came a new voice. Both turned their heads, to find a smug looking (former)Princess Luna.
"Hello Luna. Glad you could stop by. Um... Where is Celestia?" Twilight inquired. Finally a reprieve from Novo being a speciest!
"She's at the hospital, talking to the colt. Tide Pool was his name, yes?" Replied Luna, her head tilting slightly. After getting a nod, she continued. "Candidly speaking, I'm glad you are still hear Novo. I'd like to talk to you too."
"About how that monster must be exterminated?" Novo growled.
"No. About your past mistakes." Luna responded, her face taking on a neutral facade. "But for now, I'd like to see the specimen, Levi. If I may?"
"Guards, Keep an eye on Novo. Do not let her-" Twilight was about to order.
"Actually, I think it would be best if she came with us." recommended Luna. "Without her guard of course." She amended.
"May I ask why?" asked the arcane alicorn.
"Call it a demonstration."
~~~~***~~~~
These doctors... They just won't leave me alone! Ever since they arrived, I have been run through so many tests, I'm beginning to get frustrated. My wounds still haven't healed up completely, and they're wanting to test the 'efficiency of my swimming'... whatever that means.
One of them at least wants me to slow down and rest. Doctor Coral... She, or her son, Sandbar come in from time to time with some food for me. They always get a thank you from me. I've... never been treated so nicely. Aside from Tide Pool of course. Stopping for a rest, and after the Doctors left, I launch myself out of the water and on to the pool's edge.
"Nice breach dude!" Sandbar smiles.
"Thank you?" I'm kinda sure he meant my little jump out of the water. Laying on one of the beach chairs, I let out a squeaky yawn.
"So, dude- "He begins before I stop him.
"Why do you keep calling me 'dude'? That's not my name." I grumble, not opening my eyes. Sandbar chuckles, as a new voice appears.
"No, no. It's a word that, depending on how it's used, can mean 'good looking', or 'friend'. The way he's using it, it means friend." Terramar explained.
"I think understand... dudes." I chuckle at him.
"So, you used to live in an undersea volcano huh?" Terramar asks. They're clearly trying to make conversation. "What's it like?"
I admit, I wasn't ready for that.
"It's... very warm. The glow of the magma really... lights the place up." I answer, unsure of what they wanted to know. Terramar chuckles awkwardly.
"Okay... See anything interesting in the deep water?" He asks. Lifting my head, I look at them.
"Depends on what you would call 'Interesting'." I say.
"Like, some freaky new kind of fish, or something?" Sandbar offers. Thinking back, I remember one strange animal.
"I don't know if it's a new animal, but I remember seeing once, an animal, four flippers, long neck, and three horns on it's head." I describe.
"A tri-horned Bunyip." Terramar exclaims. "They're harmless. Unless they feel threatened. Anything else?"
"How about... an air breather, black and white color, tail like mine, Tall fin in the middle of it's back." I describe.
"An Orca! They're a type of dolphin. They're the biggest of the dolphins actually." Sandbar exclaims with a smile. This has turned into something amusing.
"Okay... Deep water fish... About three or four times as long as I am, grey or white body, red spines from the top and bottom of it's head."
"An Oarfish." smiles Terramar. "They're the biggest bony fish in the ocean, and only live in the deep. They don't come up to the shallows unless they're about to die."
Not only is this sating my curiosity, but those two are seeming to relax even more around me. This goes on for a short while, before the purple pony, Twilight, walks in with two others. One I instantly recognized. Hopping off my beach chair, I 'instinctually' take up a defensive posture, and begin to hiss and growl.
"I understand your animosity towards Queen Novo, young Levi." The dark blue pony says to me. "But she's here for a very good reason."
"Such as...?"
"Learning what she did wrong." She states simply.
I only slightly lower my position as Twilight approaches.
"Levi, please. Luna here is a friend, and she has a story to tell us." Twilight says, trying to calm me.
"Such as...?" I hiss back.
"What happened to your kind, and how my sister and I realized that it was such a big mistake." Luna says, hanging her head.
~~~~***~~~~
Tide walked quietly next to the former princess. He had told her his full story about Levi, and she had requested he be released. Doctor Stable, at first was hesitant; But when he got the explanation as what got into young Tide, he relented.
"So... Celestia. What did get into my blood?" Tide asked.
"When your friend Levi was impaled by that hippogriff's spear, some of his blood leached into yours. It was the original ingredient in our early healing potions." She explained, sadly. "Once we learned how effective it was, we went from culling them, to harvesting them."
"What?! Culling? Harvesting?!" Tide all but shouted.
"Please, Tide. Let me finish. When we first heard about it, my sister and I were much younger then. We took what the sailors all said at face value and thought they were like the Dragons of old. Just attacking ponies because they thought they were prey. When a sailor as young as yourself got hurt during one such skirmish, it was certain he was going to die. She even did die that very night. But something from the Leviathan she speared also got all over her. We were days away from land and had prepared her burial at sea, when she got up, took off her bandages, as was completely healed. That was when we learned of their healing abilities." She told.
"So what started as a culling to prevent attacks, evolved into harvesting so we can create a revolutionary new medicine. And it worked beyond our wildest dreams. Cancer became a memory for a time. Ponies with weak immune systems became athletes who never got sick. Potions like that became as common as apple cider and you can buy six from an everyday market stall, and was as cheap as dirt. Take it from an old mare who was there."
Tide was... unsure of what he just heard. Princesses Celestia and Luna both ordered and even participated in a culling of a species?
"What changed?" Tide asked, hesitantly.
"Population. We didn't realize that they don't breed every year like we or almost every other species does. So we ended up all but wiping out the species before the next breeding season... I, myself was about to strike one down when I learned that. My sister and I then realized how badly we messed up. An entire species on the edge of extinction, and the oceanic ecosystem thrown for a loop." Tears were flowing all but freely down Celestia's face. "All the animals they were prey for the Leviathan, suddenly grew out of control. Certain whales ate too much plankton, plankton became scarce, whales died of starvation, suddenly the scavengers had an abundance of food, and bred out of control. The ecosystem is a fickle thing. Not unlike a house of cards. Remove one, and the whole thing comes tumbling down."
Tide suddenly stopped, short of the Friendship University. Looking at Celestia, he saw her in a new light. Before her retirement, she always seemed like the nigh untouchable deity who could do no wrong. But not only does she freely admit such wrongs, she regrets them.
"However, the opposite can happen too. If you leave the ecosystem alone, then animals can go through whats called 'Wasting Away disease'. I've seen Tuna, Salmon, all kinds of sea life suddenly look like zombies. Pieces of flesh missing, muscle and bone literally exposed, scavengers feasting on animals literally still alive. It's a delicate balance Tide. Levi and his kind are essential to that balance."
They walked the remainder of the way in silence. Tide waving to his sister, who was now sitting in a diner, sipping at a milkshake to ease her still unsettled stomach. Looking up and seeing her brother waving at her, she waved back lethargically. As they entered Twilight's school, they began to hear Luna telling the same story.
"And now we come to you, Novo." Luna said.
~~~~***~~~~
I couldn't believe my ears... I... I just couldn't...
"And now we come to you, Novo." Luna kept on. "You have continued hunting them, relentlessly. You have even gone so far as to destroy any egg clutches you find. Haven't you noticed that the massive whales were getting scrawny? The plankton is rare? That fish are looking sick? Even the reefs, kelp forests are all either wasting away, or growing out of control? YOU have thrown balance and harmony off Novo. YOU. Not him!" Luna ranted... Was... was she fighting FOR me? I couldn't take it anymore. I dove to the deepest part of the pool... and screamed. I screamed as loud as I could. The water around me, and even the floor beneath me seemed to vibrate for nearly a minute. That was when my strength had all but left me... I didn't even hear the splashes into the pool.
"Go... he'll trust you more than me." I heard.
A small fin was placed gently upon me. I tried to shrug them off, but they didn't stop. I was crying and I knew it. I truly was the last of my kind... What future is there for me? To wander the seas... alone... I though I would some day meet up with my pod... but now... I knew it was impossible. I felt a small fin lift my head and hold it close to the owner's body. The texture of bandage rubbing against my face. Tide... I began to hum what had to have been from my mother to try and calm myself down.
Tide seemed to join in. Adding a part and making it sound more whole. Then I heard a voice from behind me.
"Chase the dog star
Red the port light
And every road I walked would take me down to the sea
If I should die
When I finally opened my eyes, I saw everyone in the pool with me. All looking at me with varying degrees of sadness. Novo, in her sea-pony form, couldn't look directly at me. At least, until Luna nudged her. Then she slowly swam up to me.
"I... Words cannot express how sorry I am for all I have done to you. Sincerely. When we get back to the sea, I'll gladly set aside some coral for you, if you want a place to stay that is." She said, gently, and without hostility. I was... struck speechless. She continued. "I was... I was so wrong... I should have listened to Celestia and Luna when they said your kind weren't a threat... I understand if you don't forgive me... but... know you have a friend with Sea-questria, and Mount Aris." She finished.
I was so choked up I couldn't even whimper right. I just... wanted to be alone... I must have said that last part out loud.
"We're not going to leave our friend." Tide began.
"Not a chance in tartarus." Chimed Sandbar. "And I'm sure my other friends would gladly be here with you."
"A shark's feeding frenzy couldn't keep us away!" Terramar added with finality.
I... I had actual friends... they may not look like my kind but... they were still friends... My crying began again. But this time a mix of pain, and relief. Time became a blur to me as fins would pat, or rub me. Before long, I look up to the surface, and begin to slowly swim up. As my head broke the surface, I noticed that the windows in the pool room were horribly cracked. Twilight must've seen where I was looking as they all returned to their normal above water state.
"Quite a sound you've got. Those screams would have shattered them if we didn't hold them together. But we'll worry about that later." Twilight said with a small smile. "If you'd like, you can join us for dinner later. Same with everyone in this room."
"Princess? Is everything okay?" One of her guards asked.
"Everything is fine. I do apologize If you gentle-stallions are having trouble hearing right now. Your welcome to see an Otologist at the first opportunity." She replied.
"Yes Ma'am." He said as he turned away.
I followed them through the halls of the school quietly, trapped in my own head. Where do I go from here? My entire race, all but wiped out as far as I know. Do I just... wander the seas? Stay put? Or let myself wither away and die? What are my other options? It's then that I realize Tide was trying to talk to me.
"I'm sorry... say that again?" I ask.
"I said, turns out when we were impaled, some of your blood got into my body. I'm healing as fast as you are." He told me. I wasn't sure if that was good or bad... Now that I think about it... Tide doesn't smell like a pony right now. Well, that's not right either. He does smell like a pony, but... he smells... tainted.
As we enter a brightly lit room, I'm still looking down at Tide. I then notice his eyes go from a typical round pupil, to a slit... just like mine... I found this quite alarming, and grabbed the young pony.
"Whoa, hey what are you-" He starts as I move his head around to see what else is different. I only see the eyes are different, but its when one of my claws brushed his ear that I notice something else. Turning his head again, I move his ear, and brush his fur away. I found myself gasping at what I saw.
"Tide Pool... I am so sorry..." I say quietly.
"What? What is it?" He asks, suddenly scared.
"You've gotten my eyes... and... gills." I whimper.
Tide's and Terramar's friends and family, having apparently been invited by Twilight, all stood up. I heard who I believe is his family screaming out.
"WHAT?!"
"Worry not. It's not permanent. Just temporary. They'll fade after a time. It depends on how much blood leached into you." Celestia said. "I've seen this before. Remember that young mare I told you about? The one who actually died at sea, only to wake up the next day as if nothing happened?" Tide Pool nodded, his mother holding him close. I won't lie, I was a bit jealous of that little pony. "Well she developed the same. Gills, slit like eyes, an increased affinity for water? They all faded after about two months, and she was a regular pony again."
"Give it time, and It'll fade." Added Luna. "Now come. We have something for everyone. Novo, I hope you especially learned something today?" Novo suddenly looked nervous.
"Indeed... I did. I made a horrible mistake, and I intend to make up for it... However I can." She replied with finality. "And I'll be sure to pass it on to my guard, that you are not to be touched, or harassed in any way Levi. You are now a friend of ours."
"I'll.. try to make myself known more often then... I guess." I'm still unsure of how friendships work. Before long, There was food all over the table. I figured the best thing I could do was follow their example, and eat the same way they did. These ponies, I will admit, sure do know how to add flavor to bland fish.
Dinner went on, we ate, spoke, some told jokes, and more apologies were exchanged. I was beginning to grow tired of those... That was, until one of Twilight's guard came in.
"Yes, Captain Silver Sable?" She asked.
"Ma'am, normally I would have figured this letter to be a joke, given current circumstances... well... You want to read this." She said, holding out a scroll for her.
"Thank you Captain Sable." She remarked, as the guard turned, and walked out. "Dear Princess... RES Horizon... Lunar Sea... Confirmed Leviathan sighting!?" She exclaimed loudly.
Author's Note
I was going to have Celestia and Luna be as biased against Levi as Novo, but decided against it, as it was contradictory to their character. And no, I didn't want Tide to 'mutate', but not without some side effects.
Song was Sting's Valparaiso. Credit to them.
Now I do hope this chapter is received well. Our little trip MIGHT be close to an end. We'll see how we all feel. As usual, feel free to be critical of my punctuation and grammar, etc.
And yes. That is my stance on Eco-fanatics. They are right. We are the stewards of the world, but they have the roles wrong. We are a predator species, and as a predator species, we are a part of the ecosystem. Normal predators only hunt for food(as I, myself do), and as ancient humans have. But these fanatics claim that people are the worst possible thing to happen to our world, that hunting, logging, etc, should be illegal. And that's where 'Wasting Away disease' comes in. The animals are too abundant, the preadators can't keep up, and the animals are running out of food. If loggers were allowed to do their thing, then the wildfires wouldn't be as big as they are now.
However, too much intervention, can again, cause trouble. Species wiped out. It's a delicate balance. Neither too much, but not too little. The loudest tough guys, are the biggest cowards. Those who scream the loudest about pollution, are often the worst offenders(Just look at how your Prius, your windmills, solar panels are all made. Its toxic as F**k. More than the problem they're trying to eliminate.).
Probably rustled some jimmies there. That's just my thoughts and beliefs. I honestly didn't intend for this fic to become... this... but, that's how it turned out. I really do believe in ecosystem conservation, but I also think controlled harvests to maintain a constant balance is a necessity. Take too much, and everything dies off. Don't take enough, and everything runs out of control. Balance, and Harmony.
The Thing Beneath the Waves
Interlude: Current Events
Beings everywhere were still reveling in the defeat of the Storm King, despite it happening over a year prior. The shores of the fallen King's old kingdom are alive with the sounds of laughter and splashing. Yeti's passing each other drinks, teaching their cubs how to swim, just enjoying a bright day. Even now, Yeti who were once servants of the Fallen King, were often found passed out and asleep on the beaches, enjoying their hangovers as if it was their last.
"Momma, Can I go back out in the water?" One cub asked.
"Well... it's been an hour since lunch. Very well. But let me join you." The mother said playfully, putting down her book and chasing after the cub into the seas. The two laughed in pure joy as the sire of the cub watched from the beach, a gentle smile on his face. Sure, he served under the Fallen King, but it was that or loose his family. He wasn't proud of what he did, and that strange yellow pegasus back in Canterlot did help him let go of a nasty burden... He still wondered what her name was; and what he should send her as a thank you gift.
With a smile, he sat back down on the towel next to his mate's, and watched as his ever growing family played in the surf. Slowly, a murmur began around him. Yeti everywhere were standing and pointing. The joy of the summer day was quickly ebbing away.
Off in the distance, he saw what they were pointing at. Not far off shore, stood a small volcanic island. But it wasn't just the island they were pointing at. It was the column of smoke rising from the island's mountain.
"Daddy! Daddy! Did you see me swimming?" They young cub asked as he ran up to the older yeti. "What are you looking at?"
The volcano going off was a regular occurrence, but... green lightning emitting from the rising black column?
"Is the Storm King coming back, daddy?"
"I don't think so son... That's something else."
Saddle Arabia was experiencing it's hottest summer yet. Ponies all over were making their way to the beaches, sipping smoothies, eating ice cream, the usual beach experience. Off in the distance, Trade ships of every size traveling to and from port made their way through The StarMare Strait, to the Great Inland Sea.
A young light orange colored mare sipped her drink casually as she watched the beach goers, fidgeting with her purple braided mane, patiently waiting for-
"There you are!" Shouted another mare. This unicorn mare roughly her same age, colored light pink with a blue, curly mane. "I thought you'd be down on the beach, not up here."
"I was waiting for you. Took your sweet time, didn't you?" She responded playfully. The other mare laughed.
"Sorry, but I just couldn't help but eye a really cute stallion at the rental shack down the ways on the beach." She said, flipping her tail to show which shack she meant. "Wanna try windsurfing or wake boarding the trade ships?"
"Sure! Sounds fun."
The two mares then promptly went to one of the many sports rental shacks, and, after a quick lesson, from a cute young stallion, they galloped out to the water, and began to play in the surf. Once they had a feel for the boards, they made their way out to the wakes of the passing trade ships.
"You got this, Starscout!" Screamed the unicorn, as she wiggled the lines leading to her kite.
"Never would have thought I'd be surfing the wake of a trade ship! Whoop! Wiggle those flanks Moonbow!" The earth mare screamed. The two genuinely felt like they were having the time of their lives. Before a new scream changed the mood.
"Sunny! I gotta hang on to your board! My kite got tangled in the ship. Those ponies are super mad!" The unicorn called. Looking up, she saw a mexicolt stallion shouting at them.
"¡Eh! ¿¡Qué estabas pensando, estúpido maldito turista!? ¿Sabes cuánto tiempo llevará desenredar eso?"
"I don't think I want to know what he just said!"
"¡¡REMOLINO!!" Another crew pony shouted.
"Whirlpool!!" Shouted another.
"We gotta get out of here!" The earth mare said, trying to angle her board back to the beach. But without a wake, her board was nothing but a floatation device. And not a very effective one.
Deciding it was better to just swim for it, they abandoned their boards and made the three hundred yard swim back to shore. A feat made all the harder and the current suddenly changed directions, and began to pull them back out to the middle of the strait. But they did not stop.
Looking back, the two mares watched and listened as two trade ships collided near the forming whirlpool, and began to be pulled under. The current got stronger and stronger. It was no longer a matter of getting back to shore. It was holding off the inevitable.
"Sunny! I can't swim like this much longer!" Izzy called.
"Don't stop, Keep swimming!"
The two mares continued to swim with all their might, finding themselves only going backwards. Away from the shoreline. Another ship began to creak and groan as it began to fall into the whirlpool, aft first. The roar of the rushing water became deafening as they began to orbit the edge of the whirlpool. They both screamed as they latched onto a loose rope from the current sinking ship.
Even holding on to the ship, they watched as the ship went nearly vertical, and began to plummet down the funnel. The mares watched in horror, finally grasping that this was the end of the line. As the two hugged each other, and watched as sunlight was now only visible through the tunnel of water, They both felt the ship make a sudden lurch forward. Looking down, they both saw the water rush up towards them. They both sucked in their breath as the water rushed past them and nearly ripped them off the ship. Once the rushing water stopped, and the roaring in their ears finally ceased, the began to hear what sounded like a chorus.
Both mares opened their eyes, and saw a flash of green fish like shapes dragging what seemed to be ponies, up towards the surface. It was difficult so see because of water refraction, so they weren't too sure what they were seeing. They both released their holds on the now vertically standing ship, and began to swim up. That was until they both felt what seemed to be a clawed flipper grab them both by a foreleg and were pulled to the surface. Their lungs were screaming for air by the time they hit the surface.
Once their heads breached the surface, they filled their lungs with fresh air, and... was it just them, or did the shoreline seem closer than before? Not questioning their good fortune, they immediately made their way to shore. Once they climbed ashore, among nearly two hundred other crew ponies from the various ships that now seemed stranded in the strait.
"What just happened?" asked Izzy once she regained her breath.
"I have no idea..." Looking out, they both saw that the water level has dropped drastically. The ships that weren't sucked down, grounded and were now stuck. Those that had gone into the hole where the whirlpool were lost. Only a ship standing completely vertically marked where the whirlpool once was. "One thing is for sure. The world will never be the same after this."
The Maresissippi seemed calm as glass this morning as Ponies began to start their days. River barge ponies were especially up and about, ready to haul goods this late winter morning. Their river boat was already set to tow several barges worth of good to the various ports along the river that connected North Equestria to the South.
"Cast off bow line!" The captain shouted.
"Cast off bow line, aye!" a crewmember barked back.
"Cast off Aft line!" shouted the captain again.
"Aye sir! Cast off Aft line!" Shouted another crew-pony.
"Release the barges!" Shouted the captain to the ponies on the barges.
"Aye Cap'n!" They shouted. Within minutes, the barge named the Pheonyx Fyre, began it's south bound departure.
With each port of call, the Pheonyx would lock a barge to the dock and continue along it's way. After the fourth port, on the second day, the barge rocked, as if she ran aground. The crew galloped about, trying to figure out what went wrong.
"I didn't think we were close enough to hit a sandbar." A grey unicorn said, leaning over the side, trying to see through the murky water.
"We aren't." The captain said as she strode up. "I know this river like the back of my hooves. There is no sandbar here."
"Then what..." The crewpony began, before a haunting sound came from the water. It sounded like a mourning song... The ship was suddenly rocked again, but this time, it felt as if it was being lifted. Looking down, the captain and crewponies saw a large green shape rising up from the murky brown water.
"Hold fast!" The captain shouted. Every pony braced and held on to whatever was bolted to the deck. The Fyre then lurched to the side, towards the shore; Where a loud crunch was heard. The barge seemed to stabilize as whatever was beneath them had gotten free. Looking out into the river, and the waves this thing had made, It was massive. Pony sized boulders, several pony lengths ashore were suddenly rocked loose just by the force of the water's impact.
"Contact!" a crewpony yelled, pointing to a wake in the river. Looking out, the ponies all saw what appeared to be a set of green dorsal spines, like the spinal fin of a bass. But instead of moving side to side, this moved up and down. The last thing anypony saw, was a large, green, trident shaped tail rising above the water, and slipping beneath the waves. Whatever this was, it was large enough to cause a small tsunami, and powerful enough to swim upstream, in Equestria's largest, most powerful river.
"What in Celestia, and Luna's names was THAT?" The first mate shouted. The captain could only shrug.
"Damage report?" The Captain shouted.
"Port side paddle wheel is snapped in twine!" A blue earth pony barked.
"We got a large boulder poking through the hull ma'am." Said a mechanic, poking her head out of the door leading below deck. She continued. "The leak is slow, but we cannot risk removing the Pheonyx. If we do... We'll be sunk in minutes. I've already snuffed the boilers. It'll be a few hours before the water reaches them."
"We're bucked..." Said the first mate.
An aged stallion awoke to start his day working the lighthouse as his apprentice ended her shift. The young thestral yawned loudly as she clip-clopped down the stairs, too tired to fly.
"All was clear last night sir." She said, groggily.
"Excelent." The elder smiled. "There's some hot cocoa ready for you. You've earned it."
"Thank you, sir." She said as she grabbed her mug, and filled it with liquid awesome.
The young mare slowly trudged to her bedroom, as the elder stallion grabbed his coffee mug, and began to start his shift. He smiled at the young mare who took on his tutelage. Not many ponies liked the idea of living alone on a tiny island, kilometers off shore. The ocean storms typically scared the lights out of them. It took a special kind of pony to do this job.
The older earth pony stallion made his way up the stairs towards the top of the light house. It seemed to be an incredibly foggy day, as all he could see was grey, far as the eye could see. Protocol dictated that the light was to be on on such days, so he didn't bother to turn it off and the magical gem powered light continued it's slow rotation.
Over the hours though, as the fog began to lift, he noticed that the sea seemed... a little bit rougher than it usually was for such a calm day. Odd... the winds weren't being wiley. The weather by the seas is, next to the Everfree forest, one of the hardest places for the pegasi to control. But as he looked out to the seas, he watched as a pod of whales swam by.
Pulling up his spyglass from the wall hanger where they rested, he observed. It appeared to be a pod of Grey whales heading south to the warmer waters. He smiled. It always warmed his heart to see such magnificent creatures. Continuing his watch, he saw as a ship, an old fashioned whaler of all things, with a compass rose on the sail, trying to keep pace with the whales. The green stallion watched in awe as the whales would dive away.
One whale however seemed to be lagging behind. Trying to focus the spyglass on the crewponies, He saw one, a burly unicorn hoist up a nasty looking harpoon, and balance on the ships railing for a clear shot. He magically raised the harpoon, and- he was suddenly knocked overboard as the whole ship lurched! Did it just run aground? Impossible, it was chasing whales!
The crew of the distant ship began to scramble to find out what went wrong. The earth pony stallion watching the whole ordeal began to load the flare launcher to indicate a ship in distress. He stopped as a new sound reached his ears. A melodic sound... as if the whales were singing... but this wasn't the soothing, yet discordant sounds a whale would give off. This sounding as if it was singing. There was an actual melody here. Going back to his spyglass, he refocused on the ship. To her aft, a large whales fluke, shaped like a trident, and green in color splashed behind her. Damn, that was huge. Further forward, it appeared as if a webbed dragons claw was grasping her just above the waterline!
The crewponies he saw, then began to throw their harpoons and spears at the creature holding their ship in place. Every now and then, they would land a good shot and the harpoon would impale itself in the creature's hide. Dropping the binoculars, he pulled the string that would launch the flare; Firing off with a loud "Thump... BOOM!"
Looking back out, he watched as the sea suddenly erupted with lightning... Green lightning! all around the whaling vessel, sparks, and arcs of electricity were everywhere. The ship then seemed to implode, as her center line caved in. He back broken, the fore and aft of the ship now beginning to stand in the air. The lightning subsided, and the giant creature disappeared beneath the waves, leaving the ship to founder and sink. The entire crew had to see the lighthouse standing alone on the small, rocky island, so he observed as they began to swim towards it.
Rushing back down the stairs, he woke his Thestral apprentice.
"Time to wake up, Gale! We're about to have company." He said, urgently.
"I-" The thestral, Gale Winds began before being cut off with a yawn. "Is that why I heard the flare go off?"
"Yes. A ship foundered a bit aways from us. It looked like it was attacked."
A loud knocking was heard on the front door.
"Equestrian Coastal weather patrol! Please, Open up!" Shouted a voice.
It was approximately two hours before all the ponies were rescued, and a formal report had to be written. Normally a ship going down was noted as just another annual statistic, but an attack was practically unheard of. So that meant this report had to be specially marked, and it was going straight up the flagpole, directly to Princess Twilight.
Author's Note
Hey look! I posted a thing! My sincerest apologies for the delay; But I am genuinely considering giving parts of this fic a rewrite. I just got back from my first vacation in nearly a decade, from the ocean of all places(was out visiting family on the coast), and remembered why I started writing this.
I had forgotten the sensations of the sea. Her alluring call. Now if only she hadn't stolen my gopro... anyway, yes. Some kayaking with seals, wandering kelp forests, and pulling up crab from the sea bed, and I began to think more about this!
And yes, I threw in Sunny and Izzy. I'm not a fan of the new version of MLP, and I genuinely thought about killing them off in that scene. Just have them fall into the whirlpool, and they don't make it back up. But I figured just this would do.
I also wanted to call this chapter 'Thalassophobia' but after re-reading it... it didn't feel right. As always, constructive criticism is welcome.
