Another beautiful morning in Maretime Bay, where the morning sun warmed up the last of the dew drops clinging to the browning leaves and fed it to the seaside breeze blowing from the east. The drowsy birds slowly stuck their beaks out of their nests, the welcomed sun rays rousing them into their morning singsongs as they got ready for the long trip south in preparation for the upcoming winter. We had crossed the Autumnal Equinox last week, officially calling the long summer to an end and welcoming the early precipitation that readied the stage for the snow that, year after year, covered almost the entirety of Equestria in a soft, white blanket.

Except in Las Pegasus. In Las Pegasus, it never snows ‘cause the weather team is a bunch of lazy tailholes. Or were, for that matter.

But those heavy snows wouldn’t come that morning, for the blue skies that stretched beyond the open windows of the living room promised another sunny day for everypony to enjoy. A last chance for beachgoers who wanted one last bath before the oceanic currents shifted and began dragging in cold water from the north seas and fed it to the tropical waters where Equestria more or less stood.

The chirping of the morning birds acted as the alarm I had forgotten to set last night, dragging me unwillingly from my slumber.

“... Mmmmngg, five more minutes, Twi…” I mumbled with a mandatory slurred voice, extracting my arm from under the warm covers that had pinned me to the couch to shield my eyes from the offensive light.

Since Twilight had inherited the throne of Equestria from the royal sisters, the responsibility of raising and lowering the celestial bodies had also fallen into her hooves. A task she needed some time to get the hang of, but also granted us the opportunity to sleep in whenever we wanted. Although we would have to apologize later for making the entirety of Equestria reset their clocks…

Meh, if they had time to complain, they had time to raise the sun themselves.

Needless to say, my slurred pleadings fell on deaf ears. Even with my eyes protected under my arm, it was already too late, my biological clock kicking in before I had the chance to fall back into unconsciousness.

“... Ugh.” The chance for more blissful shuteye was gone, and now I had to wake up the whole way. However, that was far from the only bad news. My sleepy mind remembered then how it was looking up to be an exciting day for us. I had planned something different for the gang and myself, something I’d rather have partaken in during the summer proper, but logistics and preparations had dragged on longer than expected.

But first things came first. Stretching my limbs as far as I could from my restrained position, I released one last yawn and smacked my gums lazily. My crusty eyes left their distracted gaze on the painted roof above us to fixate on the lump of blankets and fur that was the culprit of my inability to exit the couch and begin my morning ablutions.

“Baby…” I tenderly nudged the mare under the covers. Only her tail and a few loose strands of her purple and rainbow mane could be discerned from under the thick blankets we had cocooned ourselves in last night during one of our late-night movie marathons, finishing at a shameful hour into the night, and just feeling too tired to drag our asses a couple of steps up to our respective rooms. We had decided instead to fall asleep there and then. It was Saturday the next day, anyway.

“Mmmmm…” The lump of velvety fur and blankets groaned in displeasure, nuzzling in further against me in a feeble movement to escape my rousing attempts. Her warmth and the softness of her touch fought against my resolve to keep myself awake.

Since we’d officially become an item, we’d been spending even more time together, to the point she’d almost never leave my side. Not that I cared too much. Newly lovestruck mares tend to be very clingy, and I was more than happy to spend time with my new special somepony. A couple of improvised dates and a fair amount of heart-to-hearts had evened the ground between us, making us both come out clean of mind and ready for each other. I couldn’t physically thank her enough for being so understanding with me. The month that had passed between the night of the meteor shower and today we’d made about ourselves; without forgetting our friends, of course. Speaking about them, they were virtually bouncing off the walls with the news, albeit far from surprised.

Miss Pipp Smartflanks hadn't wasted a second bragging about how her unerring instinct had told her since the very beginning that we’d end up an item. Zipp and Hitch were excited for us, even proposing a double date of sorts which Sunny was more than happy to partake in. It had gone well enough, although seeing as how we literally lived together and spent most of our time with one another, there wasn't all that much to learn about each other like it tends to happen on these occasions. But it had been fun, a new thing for me as well as them to try.

And I discovered a nice place to take Sunny out on a date every once in a while.

Izzy, for her part, was practically vibrating when they squeezed out the news from me the morning I had to punch in early at the hospital and had proclaimed herself an advisor of sorts, going to great lengths to make sure Sunny and I had a great time together, and even offering special ‘therapy’ for couples in her office (workshop). Not that we needed it or anything, but the sentiment was still there, and we made sure to show our gratitude to the peppy unicorn.

Nopony from town had made the slightest comment about our particular arrangements, which was a profound relief for me. Couples between different races outside of the three pony tribes were rare but not unheard of back then. And, considering how things were now, Sunny and I were probably the first interspecies couple for centuries. Still, nopony gave us a hard time, just words of congratulations and encouragement.

Aside from all that, we’d fallen into the same easy routine as always, each of us focused on our jobs and daily lives, Zipp and I pouring what little was left to pour into our respective investigations, and my training with Sunny achieving slow but noticeable progress with her alicorn form. We’d covered the basics, and would soon move to more… applied magic.

“Baby, come on.” I nudged Sunny a little harder, sneaking my hand under the blankets in search of her ears, which I promptly began to scratch as I felt her tighten her hold on me.

“Mmmmmno…” She croaked out in her own raspy, morning voice, nuzzling her snout deeper into my chest while I felt her tail curl around my right leg possessively.

“But we’re going to be late.” I tried to reason in vain. An orange muzzle peeked from under the blankets at my claim. What little hope I had for having finally convinced the stubborn mare was snuffed out when said muzzle blew a raspberry at me, and then promptly disappeared under the thick blankets to nuzzle the scar under my shirt. She was well awake by then, but nopony was gonna tear her apart from her snuggly human until she said so. Such was my fate…

‘I’d rather stay like this forever too, baby; but we got places to be.’

With a playful sigh of defeat, I granted her a couple more minutes of blissful rest, enjoying the feeling of her fuzzy muzzle against the sensitive scar tissue that would forever accompany me. Ever since I revealed to them the events of the Second Battle of Canterlot, and what became of me in its aftermath, Sunny had felt the need to protect that specific part of me, like a silent promise that nothing bad would ever happen to me again as long as she had anything to say about it. That protective side was shared by most mares when it came to their loved ones, special someponies or not. Another curious trinket of the ‘selective’ reversed gender roles of ponykind. Selective, ‘cause the big, strong stallion still had to carry heavy stuff around, if you catch my drift.

Time for one last attempt to rouse my marefriend. “That’s fine, I guess,” I muttered in a disinterested voice as I ran my fingers through the peach-fuzz fur of her ear. “Although it’s truly a shame we’re gonna miss the kelpies…”

The mound of blankets covering us was yeeted into space, the mare below them almost following in tow. Now looming above me, and very, VERY much awake, Sunny’s two dark pools of wonder grew to impossible sizes along with that maniac grin that appeared every time something new and exciting regarding the long-lost past reached her fuzzy ears.

“Kelpies?!!!” She cried, forcing her snout into my nose with enough strength to bury me halfway into the couch while her forelimbs pressed against my chest.

“Mhm.” I squeaked out as best as I could through my restricted airways. “You know, water ponies?” Who are NOT seaponies. Don’t let a kelpie catch you calling them a seapony and vice versa. There are better ways to go than drowning…

“We’re going to see kelpies?!!!” She wailed once again, thankfully extracting her snout from my face and giving me a chance to catch my breath, but not dropping the slightest ounce of excitement from her now trembling body.

“No, we aren't if you don't get your rear into gear, baby.” I playfully called Sunny with a gentle pat on her rump, balancing on my elbows to get enough leverage to pull the rest of me up and going. “North Wind will leave without us if we don’t g- mmmmphhh!!”

I was gonna say that she’d leave for the Marooni Reef without us if we didn't present ourselves at the appointed time, but Sunny’s muzzle diving for my lips and forcefully pushing them apart stole any chance of rebuttal. My tongue was busy enough battling hers to finish my warning.

Something told me she was happy with my planning for that day.

Once she’d gotten everything out, she finished up with a lewd *smack*, her telltale smile screaming love and appreciation while a blush began spreading through her cheeks.

I, for my part, wasn't fully convinced by her affections. Smacking my lips twice, I pursed them and rolled my eyes in a pensive motion. “Eh, not fully there…” I commented with a playful shrug.

Sunny, catching my drift, giggled at my silly antics and, more calmly this time, pressed herself back against me and captured me in a short make-out session, moaning the moment our lips touched as her forelegs sneaked around my head. Now allowed to actually taste the mare on my lips and feel her breath against mine, I lost myself in the feeling of my marefriend as we shared yet another wonderful moment together. This past month had been filled with ‘first times’ which weren't in truth first times. But there was a lot to learn when dating a different species, and we had slowly but surely worked over all the aspects of that.

All of them. It had been fun, if a bit messy. I’m sure you can imagine.

Please, don’t imagine, it’s creepy.

Whatever lingering doubts had plagued us during our first outings together were now all but lost in the immensity of our love, one we made sure to express it to each other as frequently as we could.

Yes, it was corny enough to give Cadance a heart attack, but I want to see you in my place. I wonder what she would’ve said about us if she’d caught us in the act, once she’d stopped squealing and jumping about like a filly, that is. Part of the job description in her case, lucky her.

Out of breath, we pulled apart from each other, keeping close enough to feel her warm breath entwined with mine, her breathtaking, aquamarine pearls sparkling in the morning light, speaking louder than words ever could for the feeling we shared for each other.

“I love you,” I whispered lovingly, reaching with my head and pressing our foreheads together.

“I love you too.” She whispered back, tenderly nuzzling my nose where it met her adorable snout.

With the morning dose of cuddles crossed off the list, it was high time to drag our behinds from the confines of the couch and get a move on. Where Sunny’s slurry and lazy demeanor once stood, now a reinvigorated mare dragged me around the place in our usual tour of morning ablutions. You know a relationship has truly cemented when the both of you brush your teeth together in front of the same mirror, and waste more time than you should making silly faces at each other. Although, I wasn't that much of a fan of the new toothpaste Sunny had bought. It didn't taste quite the same for some reason…

Whatever, that wasn’t important. What was imperative was to finish getting ready and meet with the rest of the gang on Maretime Bay’s tiny-but-fully-functional harbor, from where the staggering amount of four vessels made their daily trips into the nearby waters in search of seaweed, mollusks (for cosmetic purposes, herbivore ponies and all) and whatever the earth ponies might need from the sea.

It had been during one of my first exploration runs around town that I’d found that place, and amongst the workers of the humble harbor I’d met a mare wearing a particular set of equipment I was deeply familiarized with. A short, friendly exchange later, I’d convinced the mare to rig one of her spare diving suits to fit me as well as retrofit the necessary gear, and in return, she’d gained a diving buddy to share her enthusiasm for the oceanic flora and fauna. Diving had been a favorite activity of mine back on Earth, an activity I had made the effort to continue after my arrival in Equestria. Sadly, since Canterlogic Industries had met a decisive end after Sprout’s tyrannical rampage, the necessary pieces had to be placed on order to the pegasi manufacturers in the ‘Heights who, in their sky-high isolation, had never come across the designs we were requesting, dragging the manufacturing process out into the better part of the remaining summer.

But, only a few days ago, North Wind called me screaming in ecstasy, announcing that the finished equipment had been delivered from Zephyr Heights and was ready to be assembled. From that news, I came up with the idea of a little expedition to the nearby waters that bathed the eastern Equestrian coast. More specifically, to the infamous Marooni Reef, forty-eight kilometers into the Celestial Sea, feared by griffons and pony captains alike for being the culprit of sinking a fair number of ships before more modern navigation techniques could be developed, making it an unparalleled place for divers as well as treasure hunters who, against the international laws for heritage preservation, dived in search for any lingering treasure that might’ve been left behind by the original rescue and recovery crews centuries ago.

But that wasn’t the kind of treasure North Wind and I were after. The Marooni reef was only part of a huge agglomeration of reefs and atolls stretching from the north to the south-east following the scar of the humongous Celestial Cannon, which in times long past had even breached above the waters as the biggest oceanic ridge this planet had ever know, stretching high into the sky and virtually cutting off continental Westria from its twin continent of Essia. That is, until the tectonic activity had somehow reversed, dragging the impossibly high range back with it into the deepest parts of the ocean’s reaches, leaving behind a Y-shaped scar in the form of a cannon that shaped the thermohaline circulation of this side of the Equus.

Millions upon millions of cubic meters of water traveled thousands of kilometers during the span of the seasons, from the poles to the equator and back, recycling the nutrients in the water and easing the global temperatures in and outside of the water. That particular arrangement had been exploited by the two biggest underwater civilizations of this world: the seapony kingdom of Submera, ruled by the Empyrean Queen Arlena; and the kelpie Republic of Hydropolis. The seaponies ruled over the north, while the kelpies’ rule stretched through the south and southeast, their society bearing close ties with the creatures of the southern reaches of Westria and Essia alike as well as the Summer Islands. Both made use of the underwater currents as we land-dwelling creatures made use of rivers to transport goods and people alike around.

The place we were heading to belonged to the kelpies who, while not meddling in the affairs of the surface people, had never outright opposed vessels sailing over their waters as long as they were respectful of those living under the waves, and had saved countless lives when the stubbornness of griffons and ponies alike had dragged vessel after vessel to its swift demise in the treacherous waters of the Marooni Reef instead of dealing with the not-so-permissive seaponies.

With any luck, and assuming the creatures from below the waves hadn't been affected by the poor choices of us living above the water, there was a high chance we’d catch a kelpie or two traversing the place, perhaps even a few foals playing around the shipwrecks like I’d encountered once during an expedition with a couple of Manehattanite divers.

Regardless of what we’d end up encountering or not, it was sure to be an unforgettable experience for all of us, something different to partake in. While only North and I possessed diver certification and skills (I had to ask her for a new set for me too), Marooni Reef was a scarcely deep formation with an abundance of life; not so good for big sailing ships passing by, but perfect for snorkeling if you preferred to keep your back dry. That’s what I had convinced the ponies to do with me, and all of them had agreed without protest. It had taken a surprisingly small amount of convincing since I knew from experience how ponies rather preferred to keep their hooves on solid ground. Whatever lay beyond the safety of the coast tended to unnerve those not attuned to the sea, making sailors a rare but highly demanded type of pony. To each race their own, I guessed.

But my pony friends were brave ponies. After facing the Avatar of Chaos himself in a grueling fight at the shores of a lava river, a snorkeling expedition was foal’s play. Also, with half of them having spent their entire lives either deep inside a mysterious forest or high above the clouds, this was one of the many activities they could’ve never partaken in before the reunification.

That very same group of ponies had already gathered near the entrance to the harbor by the time Sunny and I finished our morning preparations and hastily crossed the town to meet with them. The three mares and lone stallion were amicably chatting with our would-be captain slash master diver for the day. Sporting her sea-ruffled, royal-blue coat and short, salty, two-toned, sky-blue and white mane and tail, Captain North Wind was already well into explaining the trip's route as well as presenting the snorkeling ponies with their equipment. The pegasi sisters as well as Hitch, who’d left Sparky in the care of Pipp’s coworkers for the day, listened with rapt attention to the seasoned diver’s instructions and safety instructions. Our wacky unicorn, for her part, was distracted with closely checking out my custom-made BCD and first stage.

“Izzy! Stop wasting my nitrox!” I loudly called out to the mischievous mare once we had caught sight of our group.

Spitting out the mouthpiece, Izzy’s embarrassed grin saw her slowly retreating back into the security of the ponies with a guilty giggle.

North’s ears perked up at the sound of my voice, straining her equine head above the ponies’ to catch sight of my marefriend and I as we approached them. “Ah, there be me diving buddy. Ready to tackle the waves, grumete?!!” She greeted with a hearty wave of her foreleg.

“What did she call you?”

Rubbing my face tiredly, I addressed my marefriend with a crooked smirk behind the hand gripping the bridge of my nose. “Cabin boy, like a novice sailor. It’s a word from my mother language.” I explained to the amusement of my giggling mare, returning my attention to the smirking sailor delivering an offended rebuttal. “It was one time, North!”

“One time’s all I need, you landlubber!” She shouted back, making everypony’s muzzles stretch into bemused smirks at their particular way of talking. “Now stop yer bellyaching and give me a hoof with the gear!”

With a deep sigh, I complied with her wishes. “A sus órdenes, mi capitán.” I said as I switched to Spanish, making the seasoned mare grin in victory while the ponies’ befuddlement only continued to rise.

“Why does she talk like that?” Asked Pipp.

“Why do you talk like that?” Followed her sister, pointing her hoove at my strange choice of language.

“Any good sailor gotta stay in character.” I offered with a nonchalant shrug, messing Zipp’s mane playfully as I passed by her side. This past month our relationship had slowly but surely regained its original luster, so to speak, with both parties agreeing to just allow bygones to be bygones and focus on the important stuff ahead. Also, our friends were getting tired of the sticky awkwardness between us.

“A sailor, not a pirate.” Zipp countered, tisking in annoyance while fixing her already messy mane.

“This mare knows no difference, it’s an on-and-off thing, isn’t that right, Captain?!”

North returned a muffled hum of approval, muzzle full with carrying our diving suits after a good soak in the nearby shore to get them nice and slippery for us…

I can see where your mind’s going. Don’t.

“Help this old mare suit up, would you?” North requested with a sweet voice after spitting up our neoprene suits, nosing her own to me and turning to give a good view of her wind-rose-themed flanks.

Needless to say, my marefriend was far from amused.

“Fret not, my little pearl.” North flashed the fuming mare a reassuring wink. “I know this stud’s yours. Although…” With a naughty shake of her flanks, a sultry grin stretched her muzzle. “A mare wouldn't mind sharing sometime…” She purred, making me groan behind her where I was easing her rear legs and tail into the diving suit as Sunny’s nostrils released a noisy puff of steam.

“North, behave.” I chided, patting her rump to signal both that I had finished and to get a hold of her hormones.

“Ugh, these spineless landlubbers don’t know the virtues of sharing...” North grumbled in disappointment, grabbing her suit’s sleeves and tying them around her barrel. “Ye don’t be getting the privilege of choosing on the high seas, ye know?!”

Rolling my eyes, I left the salty mare with her nonsense while I busied myself gearing up my own suit, but not before getting a good, possessive rub of my marefriend.

“She’s just messing around,” I reassured Sunny with a scratch on her scalp.

But my partner would have none of it. “Don’t care.” She grumbled, making sure to rub every inch of her furry body against my semi-naked form, having lost my shirt and flip-flops with only my swim trunks to cover my sensitives.

“It’s not like anypony’s gonna tell with the smell of salt and seaweed.” I poked my marefriend on her third run against me, having covered my moist suit in orange hairs that would surely itch like hell later on.

“Don’t. Care.” She repeated, lower and with narrowed eyes.

It was time to shut up, my self-preservation instinct screamed at me. The shorter, albeit not particularly dimmer autumn season was looking to arrive soon this year, it seemed. Not the falling-leaves, dropping-temperatures autumn season. That kind of season. Crazy, hormone-high mares prowling the streets on the hunt for some stud to get their hooves on. Hitch and I were up for some fun in the coming days, but when it came to ‘mare versus mare’ when a stallion was concerned, things tended to escalate quickly.

The rest of the ponies, after the giggling fit had run its course, also distracted themselves with their own sets of gear, summing up to be the reglementary goggles and snorkel as well as hoof-friendly fins for their rear legs. Hooves don’t drag as much water as the slightly finned human hands, meaning big flippers were mandatory even when only treading on the surface when ashore.

However, an out-of-place sight caught my attention through the corner of my eye. More like an out-of-place behavior, actually. While the sisters and Hitch chatted amicably while testing the fitness of their gear, Izzy’s muzzle was scrunched in a guilty frown, magenta orbs quickly darting from the snuggling mare against me to the wet, wooden planks under us and back again.

‘Huh? What’s gotten into her?’

“Come on, ponies, let's get you a nice set of sealegs!!” My musings were rendered short by the captain's sharp call for boarding. Filing that nugget for later, I nudged Sunny in the direction of the vessel that would carry us offshore to our destination. Trailing behind the geared-up ponies, wearing their goggles on their necks and fins tuckered on their backs, we all boarded the modest yet considerably bulky ship, its overall shape that of a speedboat more than the old sailing ships that would fill every port on both shores of Equestria in times past. It was fitted for carrying passengers, although its distribution could be easily rearranged for cargo transportation too. With such a tiny amount of available vessels, the earth ponies had to make as much as they could out of each of them.

Painted with a warm mixture of reddish-orange and white stripes, North’s ship, the ‘Sea Roach’ (don’t ask, I don’t know) gently rocked to the rhythm of the high tide, its rubber protections bumping against the rim of the wooden walkway as our group slowly embarked and took a seat on one of the two facing benches, storing the heavier gear under them for later.

Taking my marefriend’s hoof, I steadied her on her way into the vessel, her shaky legs unaccustomed to the feeling of a rocking ship.

“This is so weird…” She mumbled with insecurity, her sight fixed on her forehooves as if she was about to trip with every step she took.

“I know, right?!” Izzy, having regained her ever-cheerful spark in the blink of an eye, excitedly called from her seat, her torso swaying against the movements of the ship and electing a snorty giggle with every jump the vessel took when a big wave crashed into it.

“I’m not sure about this…” Hitch croaked out after swallowing a nervous lump, the uneasy stallion seemingly suffering from the initial effect of seasickness. He had been the one who reacted strongly to the aftereffects of Discord’s teleportation, puking his guts out shortly after and barely avoiding making a mess of the hall.

“You’ll get used to it, buddy.” I patted the stallion on the head reassuringly. “If it gotta come out, do it. It's your first time, after all.”

“I’m fine for now.” Hitch waved his forehoof dismissively, although his yellow-furred features were growing greener with each passing moment. His special somepony, having taken a seat beside him, patted his back in a comforting gesture. Our resident daredevil would surely be the last of us to feel any motion sickness with her cutting through the air as if it were her plaything.

“The rocking will get better with some speed under us, Hitch,” I explained to the sick-looking stallion. “Again, take it easy.”

With that said, I tied the sleeves of my suit over my waist and took a seat in the free space at the front of the boat, getting a full view of the five assembled ponies with North positioning herself behind the wheel.

“Ready to get your hooves wet, ponies?” I merrily asked the group as I eased the ropes from the bow, freeing the vessel from the mooring and creating some distance from the walkway with a push. I was filled with excitement, finally able to partake in one of my favorite hobbies after so long.

A chorus of affirmative cheers and a sickly *urp* filled the rather empty harbor. Having freed her end of the boat, North turned the ignition and kicked the twin engines into reverse, maneuvering the vessel with practiced ease away from the dock and out of the harbor into the open sea. I estimated an hour and a half or so until we reached our target, so I fell back into my seat and, with a big stretch, relished the familiar motion of a speeding boat, the vibrating purr of its engines against the frame more than once having lulled me to sleep while on longer trips.

“Feel the wind in your manes, ponies. Taste the salt in the air!” Noth called over the roar of the engines and the displaced water. “This is as close as us flightless ponies will get to experiencing piercing the heavens!”

“Eh…” A smug Zipp shrugged with an evil smirk, earning a tiny jab from her sister. Pipp on her end had, without missing a beat, been live-streaming her point of view, her no-doubt thousands of followers hooked into experiencing through the screen what we were experiencing first-hand… or first-hoof for most of us.

“Are we gonna see a lot of fishies?!” Izzy wondered in her bottomless excitement.

“With any luck, we’ll get to see more than a few fishies,” I answered the peppy unicorn while sending a knowing wink in my marefriend’s direction.

Sunny returned her most excited smile, looking adorable with her big snorkeling glasses around her neck, trapping both her long braid and my old pendant within its rubbery grasp. The pendant hadn't left its place at her neck since it got its cord changed for a sturdier one. It was easy to miss buried in her chest fluff, which was extra fluffy now that the ponies would begin shedding their summer coat for a fuller, denser coat in time for the winter months soon. I was gonna cuddle that mare to death when that happened.

That thought, however, dragged my sight back to Izzy. More specifically the friendship bracelet which also had made a permanent residence on one of her fetlocks. The multicolored gems lining the lighter fur of her fetlock gave an idea.

“Izzy,” I called the unicorn, who had wasted no time distracting herself by looking over the rim and sticking her muzzle into the spray of displaced water and seafoam.

“Hmm?” She replied, blinking hard to lose the stingy droplets and wrinkling her snout at the tangy smell of seawater.

“Can I borrow your bracelet for the dive? I wanna show you something cool.”

“Ummm…” She shuffled her forehooves in hesitation.

“I won’t lose it, I promise.” I crossed my heart in a short version of a Pinkie Promise. “It’s something they show us in training. It’s cool, you’ll see.”

Under my reassuring promise, Izzy accepted and removed her bracelet, hoofing it to me to wear on my left wrist, right behind my gauntlet. I could’ve used the gauntlet gems too for a demonstration, but I didn't want to remove them, especially deep underwater. Those things were now truly irreplaceable with the elite of Canterlot’s I+D gone for good.

“Captain!” I yelled over the roar of the boat for the mare behind the wheel. “We brought the underwater camera, right?!”

“Are you stupid, grumete?!” She yelled back with a face that denoted my idiocy.

“Yeah, we’ve got the camera,” I added blankly to myself, eliciting a chuckle from the pony spectators.

The sea remained calm during our voyage, only scarce waves now hitting harder against the hull and making us jump in our seats. Izzy was elated with the experience, waiting eagerly for the boat to cut through a big wave and jump high, remaining half a second more in the air with the relative change of height, yet laughing lively at the particular feeling of momentary weightlessness in your belly. This was a completely new experience for all the ponies present, besides the experienced captain, so all of them were enjoying the trip to its fullest while I remained calm and lazy in my place, already used to such trips back and forth on speedboats or the closest the ponies of old had to them.

A heavy sigh broke through the sound of the wing rushing in my ears. “If only it wasn’t saltwater…” A slightly dejected Pipp clutched her mane, already feeling the effect of the seawater on it.

“You know it's actually good for your mane, right?” Pipp, cocking her head sideways, silently urged me to explain while trying in vain to smooth her already curling hair. “Saltwater’s harsh on the hair, but even more so on anything nasty living there. It's a natural antifungal and helps eliminate excess oil and sebum.”

Pipp, mane expert extraordinaire, hummed pensively while brushing her purple mane strands. “Hmm… perhaps I ought to order a saltwater bath for the saloon…”

“And where’re you going to place it?” Her sister stuck her muzzle in, “That place’s stuffy enough as it is.” She said, playfully teasing the pouting pegasus.

With a dignified huff, Pipp stuck her snout in the rushing breeze ruffling our heads. “Well, perhaps I oughta place it in our room instead, straight under your bed, and get all that ‘detective’ junk out of the way…”

‘Oh-ho, that's gonna hit bad…’

With an exaggerated gasp, Zipp’s wings flared out from her sides, catching the defending wind under her feathers and almost launching her straight up from the boat had Hitch not secured her in his forelegs.

A mistake on his part.

“Hitch, defend your mare's honor!” Zipp loudly demanded from the security of the stallion's grasp with a theatrical gesture.

“M-M-Me?!” Hitch stuttered like a little colt, earning the flattest look Zipp's equine features could muster. Swallowing loudly, Hitch rubbed his fetlocks as he met Pipp’s smug grin. “Um, please don't, Pipp.” He muttered in a striking resemblance to another yellow-furred pony I had known well in the past.

“Wow, my knight in shining armor.” Zipp blankly stated, receiving a pleading look from his coltfriend and a victorious laugh from her sister.

“B-But, honeeey…” Hitch whined, but the damage was already done.

Chuckling alongside the rest of our friends, I watched amused at the couple's antics, sending a side look at my own mare which was met with one from her, a silent recollection of the few times we’d also fallen into lover’s silliness this past month.

An hour or so into our journey, the first sandbanks began to breach through the calm waters, slowly emerging from the depth until creating a shifting, low-depth underwater plateau that had claimed its fair share of vessels from inexperienced sailors. Since these underwater dunes shifted constantly, growing and diminishing to the sea’s whims and the wind’s command, most of those ships had ended up being dragged deeper into the slope of the Marooni Reef, meaning you wouldn't see them marooned in the shallow waters anymore, instead making their slow but sure journey into the depths of the endless blue.

That was true for all but one of them, which I was pleasantly surprised to see still in its resting place even after so many years since the last time I visited.

“Captain, three o’clock, one kilometer! You see it?!”

Following my directions, North extracted a pair of binoculars from a store cabinet and scrutinized the horizon.

After a minute of searching, her eyes lit up behind the lenses. “Ah, is that what you were talking about?!”

The uppermost part of a mast, still with the crow's nest and a soggy flag stuck to the wooden structure, jutted from the depths, defying the gentle waves that sought to break it.

But this was no ordinary vessel.

“What?! What is it?!” Izzy jumped from her seat and latched onto the boat's rim, searching for the landmark I had pointed. “Wait, is it that black dot in the distance?”

“Mhm.” I nodded to her claim. “We gotta put it on starboard and continue for another seven kilometers until we reach the rocky formations. Light up the depth sounder just in case!” I called out to our Captain, twisting in my seat to face the front of the boat and keep an eye out into the sea. Centuries had passed since the last time I’d gone there, so I couldn't trust the finer details of my meager memories of previous trips.

Sticking her foreleg into the air, North signaled she’d copied and, slowing down the boat to a safer speed, followed my instructions.

The closer we sailed to our destination, the better the landmark could be discerned, until the curious ponies finally caught a good view of it.

“Is that a mast?!” Sunny asked, having followed Izzy's example and casting her full attention into the blue beyond.

“Indeed it is, baby.” I warmly congratulated Sunny. “Those are the remains of the HMS Luna’s Might, one of Equestria's mightiest warships at the time, hence the name.”

From the time of the second attempt of the griffons to invade Equestria, shortly after Luna's banishment, trying to take advantage of the subsequent political mess. They failed miserably, needless to say, but still, many lives were lost on both sides. But this ship hadn't met its end in a glorious battle. No, no, its story possessed a pathetic, albeit humorous end, where a proud earth pony captain, fresh out of having sunk a pair of griffon warships, wanted to cut through the reef in a mad victory rush to return to port and flaunt his recent victory with any mare willing to humor him. He and his sailors were drunk on victory and moonshine.

You can guess the rest.

I shared the short story with the ponies who, just as I’d done the first time I’d heard it, burst out laughing at such a pitiful end for such a mighty vessel.

“Yeah, even in the middle of the war, the griffons wouldn't shut up about it every chance they got to humiliate the ponies further.”

“Can we check it out?”

“On our way back, perhaps,” I answered Zipp. “We gotta head in a bit further to the rocky side of the reef. Underwater dunes shift and change too quickly for any sealife to cling to them properly. It’s like an underwater desert here.”

North Wind, an eye out on the sea and the other fixed on the screen navigated with practiced ease around the shipwreck and further into the slope. The sandy bottom slowly gave way to solid rock, deprived of sand by the strong current pulling inwards into the major cannon stretching far under us. At the same time, the bland, bluish-white of the empty sea bottom slowly bloomed with blurred colors and shapes at the same time its depth stabilized into a gentle slope, where countless creatures and plants found the conditions ideal to establish and form breathtaking submerged ecosystems.

The old mooring places for diver vessels had been long ago lost to the ocean, meaning we had to secure an impromptu place to park our boat for the time being. A jutting formation of gray, algae-covered rock did the trick. I secured the ropes around it and made the necessary knots to ensure our ride wouldn’t go anywhere without us.

I checked with North’s onboard computer to assess more or less where we were and plot a course for the ponies and myself to follow.

“Okay, how about we go thirty minutes northeast, do a couple of laps around the Dawn’s Hammer, and then come back using the current? Gives me enough margin of error with the nitrox and the gang can get a nice swim to boot.”

With a hearty nod, North Wind agreed to my proposition. “Sound’s good to me, grumete. I’ll keep an eye on them. They all know how to swim, right?”

“Ha! Imagine if they didn't.” I chuckled at North’s silly inquiry.

“It’d be a tragically short trip.” She joked back. Turning the keys, the purr of the ship came to an end, leaving the gentle sway of the waves and the wind rushing in our ears as our only companions.

“Hear up, landlubbers! Gear up and be ready in five!” North bossed the ponies who, getting into the role, saluted the salty mare and began gearing up.

“Oooh, this is gonna be so much fun!” Izzy couldn't help crying as she donned her hoof-friendly flippers.

Not wanting to fall behind, I returned to my previous seat and began dressing myself with my retrofitted diving equipment. With the safety checks done and everything in place, I drew from experience to be ready before the ponies had finished fumbling around with their flippers and donning their goggles over their faces. I didn't miss the funny look my marefriend was sending me.

“How do I look?” I playfully asked Sunny, who dipped her head in contemplation.

“Hmm, like an astromare from Izzy’s cheap movies.” She jested, earning a snicker from me and an offended look from the unicorn.

“Unicorn cinematography is but the MOST exquisite form of art, I’ll have you know!” Izzy proclaimed, sending her snout high in the air.

“Ugh, so weird…” I caught Pipp muttering, unaccustomed to the feeling of having to breathe through her mouth since the goggles blocked their nostrils, just as the ones on Earth would.

A bit of fumbling over their gear later, and the ponies were ready and eager to begin. North, wearing her own diving suit, took center stage in the middle of the boat and delivered our schedule to the ponies. They would remain on the surface, snorkeling to their heart's content while North dived close under them, with me going deeper and snapping as many pictures as I could, as well as searching for the aforementioned kelpies.

My interest in them was twofold. On the one hand, they were amazing creatures to encounter, so any chance of meeting one was guaranteed to be a magical experience. But on the other hand, as guardians of the southern waters, they were sure to know at least something about the state of the world in general.

I wasn't afraid of them not being around anymore. The underwater world was rarely affected by the noise from the lands above, so I was positive they’d still be around minding their own business. If I could find one and convince them to surface, I prayed for any nuggets of information they could offer regarding current or past events that I could milk from them. And if I was lucky enough, I wouldn't even need to pull titles on them. Although, considering what a rough spot I got them out of last time, they were sure to remember me or at least remember my titles, so I had that edge if the occasion required it.

I was to be the first to jump, the ponies wanting some cool pictures of them jumping from the boat. Humoring them, I placed myself into position and, sending Sunny one parting kiss, I inflated my vest, bit on the mouthpiece, and, with a deep breath, let gravity drag me into the chilling waters.

Shaking off the stupor from the temperature change, I reoriented myself to face the boat and readied the camera. One by one, the ponies jumped from the rim, striking a pose of their own choosing which I then each captured in a picture. Once all the equines were in the water and kicking to stay afloat, North ran one last look around her vessel to make sure everything was fine and followed my example down into the blue waters of the reef.

The ponies were quick to adjust and, having already partaken in more than one outing in Horseshoe Bay, found no trouble paddling doggy style in the default swimming way of the ponies, biting on their tubes and sinking their heads under the crystalline waters, marveling themselves with the underwater sights one could only find in the equatorial regions of the Earth.

While North submerged herself under the ponies and began monitoring them, I took a second longer to set the compass in place, using the boat as our reference to later find our way back the way we came.

Once I was satisfied we wouldn’t get lost, I expelled the air from my vest and began my descent. Soon, the striking silence of the underwater world displaced the rolling of the waves and the rushing of the wind. It’s an experience only those who have ventured into the endless blue can truly recognize. It’s hard to put into words, but the sheer calmness, the sense of weightlessness, the nip of the chilling waters that slowly evaporated away with you not even realizing it...

‘Faust above, how I have missed this…’

Down there, surrounded by countless sea creatures of all shapes and sizes, from branchy corals to schools of fishes of every color of the rainbow, going through the occasional turtle swimming an uninterested lap around me.

The path we were to follow mirrored the natural course of this side of the reef. As long as we swam parallel to it, we would stay on course, and do the same thing on our way back. At the end of it, another Equestrian vessel, this one a military cargo ship, awaited us, or so I hoped.

Twisting my body, I faced the surface to check on with my friends. They caught sight of my movement since all of them began saluting me from the surface. Returning the gesture, I snapped a couple of pictures of them before repositioning myself and beginning my slow journey northeast, but not before blowing a healthy amount of bubbles in their direction. Even from where I was, pushing ten meters deep, I heard their giggles when the bubbles tickled their exposed bellies.

At the same time, where the reef stretched northeast, it slowly sank the further we traversed it, reaching twenty-five or so meters before plunging sharply into the blackness of the deeper reaches. The Dawn’s Hammer was a spectacular sight, for it was balanced just at the rim of the slope before it turned alarmingly steeper in barely a few meters. Centuries of currents hadn't managed to push it past the brink, for just as I was about to breach through the end of the reef, the stern of the ship, tilted upward in its precarious position, met me with its breathtaking wonder. A quick look up at the surface revealed the ponies having managed to catch up, Zipp pointing to the same sight I was experiencing from my vantage point at eye level with its wooden frame.

Since I was close to twenty-five meters deep, the colors had already begun to fade. Those of you who have dived before will know what I’m talking about, the warmer colors dulling to an ugly brown as the water absorbed more and more of the wavelengths from the midday sun. I extracted Izzy’s bracelet, lined with a myriad of colorful gems, now considerably duller while suffering from the same phenomenon as the coral and sea life around me. I snapped a picture of it, wanting to show them the difference in the colors after we had resurfaced.

I swam towards the ship’s rotten frame and swam a lap around it, snapping pictures far and wide while trying to not push the depth limit too much to preserve as much air as I could. Since I was alone for this dive, which meant that North was too far up to reach me quickly in case of an emergency, I decided it was best not to delve inside the derelict ship. Whatever treasure that it might have hosted in the day was long gone, now a home for any creature who would find a safe, secluded place on its wooden insides.

Once I was satisfied and had drunk in the sights to my heart's content, I decided that it was time to execute the maneuver. What maneuver, you might be asking? The thing is, I wasn’t supposed to use it in the condition I was currently in, said condition lacking any kind of immediate danger or emergency, so sending a distress signal when no distress was present was considered rude and of little consideration.

Still, with nothing better at my disposal to stir up any passing kelpie or other sea dwellers than a distress signal, one I had learned to cast as a variation of the shockwave spell, I charged into my gauntlets, releasing a powerful burst of energy that quickly traveled in all directions, startling the ponies above me as centuries of sand and seaweed fell from the ship’s frame to float in a light dust cloud that momentarily clouded my vision.

The tranquility of the ocean was restored by the time the sand particles had dispersed enough to clean the view in front of me. I waited for a while, keeping a close eye on the dark horizon in search of any signs of movement. I waited for five minutes, and then ten, but the enriched oxygen stored in my tank was finite, and I was already cutting it close enough; so, after one last three-sixty look around me, I sent a dejected negative signal to my fellow diver above me.

What had helped countless sailors in the past from meeting a decisive end in the sea’s embrace had failed to summon any of the friendly waterponies that patrolled these submerged territories. Whether it was a case of simple bad luck, or them acting skittish after so many years of no pony sightings, I couldn't know for sure. Perhaps I would try at a later date, but the manometer marked the halfway point of my dive, meaning it was time to head back. The current would help us on our return trip, so it took considerably less time to make it back to the boat. With the safety stop done and my vest once again filled with air, I waited for the gang to reach me as I hung onto one of the ship's lifelines, privately cursing my bad luck. Still, I’d had a blast and had painted a new coat of memories over the dulled ones I’d harbored of past dives so many centuries ago.

“It was a wide shot, Alex. Either you cross the land bridge to Essia and take a peek for yourself, or you build a proper ship.” I mused to myself as I waved to my marefriend who, along with the rest, was a few short strokes from reaching me. “Either way, the other creatures are not going anywhere… I hope.”

The waterlogged suit was considerably heavier on my way up to our boat, but nothing I couldn’t handle. Once I was inside and the gear secured, I helped the ponies up one by one, with North taking the rear. If the ship’s deck had managed to remain relatively dry on our way here, six ponies vigorously shaking their coats dry made swift work of it. I couldn’t help but laugh at the curious sight. These ponies acted like anything but ponies sometimes.

The total amount of time I’d spent submerged couldn't have surpassed the fifty-minute mark, but regardless of that, every time I dived and came back, I always felt a bit queasy, the difference in pressure not agreeing with my stomach. Taking a seat and closing my eyes, I allowed the brisk breeze to chase the nausea away. That, and the onboard snacks North had brought with us, would leave me feeling refreshed in no time.

A very excited Sunny welcomed me; after reopening my eyes, I could see my marefriend’s beaming smile bursting with happiness.

“My, somepony’s had a good time.” I quipped, running my fingers through the damp fur under her chin.

Oh, a good time she’d certainly had, which Sunny made sure to ‘summarize’ by eagerly retelling each and everything she’d seen from the surface, with me listening attentively to my mate’s enthusiastic tirade with a heart full of love.

“... And did you see the size of that turtle?! It was huge!! Like, I thought it was gonna eat you or something!”

I chuckled at her exaggerated claim, my gesture lighting up that adorable blush on her cheeks which I had made a daily goal to enjoy at least once a day.

“I’m sorry we didn't get to meet a kelpie...” I apologized with a shameful frown once the laughing had left my lungs. She’d sounded so eager that morning…

The electrical feeling of her lips over mine stopped the cascade of shame dead in its tracks. Her aquamarine orbs, shining under the harsh sun, regarded me with as much love as her equine heart could muster and got mine to beat a hundred times faster in tandem.

“I had a lot of fun, honey.” She accompanied her soothing words with a gentle brush of my cheek. “Don’t beat yourself over it, okay? There’s always next time!” She finished with a peppy skip, a sure promise for a repetition of the activity when the weather was more forgiving.

Still feeling bad for having promised something that had amounted to nothing but smoke and mirrors, I heeded her and answered with a peck of my own.

“Hey! No frowning is allowed aboard the USS Friendship!”

Izzy’s damp, but nevertheless stunning mane peeked out over Sunny’s, her horn almost appearing to belong to my marefriend from that angle. Sunny, flicking her ears backward, leaned aside to find the horn’s owner giving us a warning look, which lost all its weight with the oversized goggles around her neck.

“The what?” I couldn't help but ask.

“You know? The ship we’re currently on?” Izzy clarified as if it was shared knowledge.

Sadly, our captain was quick to disagree.

“That's not what my baby is called!”

“Yes, she is” Izzy didn't skip a beat on her rebuttal.

“It’s not!”

“It’s so!”

“It is not!”

“Mine is much better!” The lavender unicorn dramatically raised her hoof high. “A fitting name for a vessel carrying the most awesome, friendliest group of ponies, and human,” she interrupted her number to send me a wink, “Equestria has ever seen!” Bringing herself down from whatever high had filled her system, Izzy addressed a fuming North with her smuggest grin. “Much better than the ‘Sea Roach’” She concluded with a proud flick of her tail.

Before North had the chance to literally explode and leave us stranded in the middle of the sea, I flicked Izzy on her flank to get her attention.

“Sorry, Izzy, but that one’s taken.”

“Huh?” She furrowed her muzzle.

“That ship became our capital ship, from the repurposed Storm King’s invasion fleet.”

With my marefriend's attention once again piqued, Izzy racked her brain in search of another name, although it was not like North was going to accept any of them anyway.

“Uuuh… Unity?”

“Second fleet, northern reaches patrol.” I crossed my arms smugly, relishing the feeling of Sunny’s wet fur brushing against me as she snuggled up against my side.

“Mmm… Magic?”

“Come on, Izz,” I quipped with a smirk. “You’ve gotta be more original than that.”

“Ugh!” Now she was furiously rubbing her temples. “... Compadres?”

“I personally named that one.”

“OH COME ON!!”

While Izzy continued spitting out gibberish by that point, I remembered that I was still carrying her bracelet in my vest’s pocket. Reaching down for it before I had the chance to forget it again, I used this time to also turn on the underwater camera to show them why I wanted to take her bracelet with me in the first place.

“Izzy.”

“Confidants? Bosom Buddies? Palsfourever?...”

“Izzy, look.”

Fortunately, I managed to pull the wacky unicorn out of the gutter and guide her attention to the back screen of the camera, where the picture I’d taken of her bracelet was portrayed. At the same time, I held her actual bracelet in my other hand for her to notice the difference. Sunny, her head resting on my shoulder, also wanted to take a peek in her boundless curiosity.

It took her only a moment to notice the glow-down her usual sparkling bracelet had acquired when submerged several meters underwater.

“Not so pretty down there, huh?”

Ignoring my rhetorical question, Izzy took her bracelet from my offering hand and, after a careful lookover, as if fearing it had permanently lost its luster as shown in the picture, returned it to its usual place on one of her fetlocks. She sent me a quizzical stare, a silent request for an explanation.

I was more than happy to oblige. “The more you descend, the more the warmer colors fade since the seawater absorbs the lower energy wavelengths. Reds and oranges get absorbed by the water first, then yellows and so on, down the order of colors in the rainbow.” I said, pointing to the picture during my explanation. “It all ends up catching sickly greens or tasteless blues, not quite like in the books, I reckon.”

With another nugget of knowledge shared amongst my friends, I turned the camera off and laid back in my seat, waiting for the captain to announce our departure.

She didn’t take long. After huffing up a storm and sending a death glare to our resident unicorn, North got behind the wheel and rigged the GPS for our trip back.

“Very well, Sea Roach,” Another leer towards a smirking Izzy. “We’ll get us nice and dry back into port, just sit back and enjoy the ride.”

“Let’s take a quick lap around the Luna’s Might first, Captain.” I proposed, catching a twitching Zipp visibly relaxing on her seat once her initial request had been fulfilled.

Rolling her eyes and huffing, North began the excruciating task of pressing two buttons to change our course a bit. Zipp, happy that she was gonna get a closer look at the sunken warship, returned to her previous place beside her coltfriend, who seemed now to be considerably less seasick than on our initial voyage.

‘We’ll see about that in a second…’ I inwardly chuckled, relaxing back in my place with my cuddly marefriend nuzzling me under my chin. With the sun’s warmth quickly drying my fur-less body up, and the feeling of nausea all but gone by then, I closed my eyes and leaned against Sunny, looking forward to a nice ride back home…

“Um… hello?”

Only to almost tear my eyelids off as I opened them to peer at… nothing?

“You guys say anything?” I asked the group, receiving negative answers from the assortment of ponies.

“Is everything alright?” My concerned marefriend inquired.

“I thought I heard somepony…” I answered, scratching my head while casting a puzzled look around.

“Uh, down here.”

‘... No way…’

The voice would’ve been enough indication, rising above the splashing of the waves with that telltale… I'm not quite sure how to describe it. It sounded wobbly as if you were trying to speak underwater.

Still, my eyes needed to believe what my ears were receiving. Startling Sunny out of her cuddly stupor, I almost launched myself over the board, the safety ropes lining the ship's rim the only thing preventing me from getting a mouthful of seawater down my gullet.

The owner of the voice was also startled by my abrupt movement, his translucid head sinking under the waves against my harsh peering.

‘No no NO, dammit!’

“Hey! HEY!” I called out to the ocean, tense seconds passing before the water reformed in the shape of an equine head, a pair of hesitant, pearly eyes peeking over the shifting waters. “Sorry about that, mate, I'm just very happy to see you.”

While my words were meant to be soothing, the manic grin I was sporting spoke otherwise. But the wondrous creature known as a Kelpie stilled his nerves and, spurred by the lack of aggressive intention, swam a bit closer to the boat.

“I heard a distress call nearby.” He exclaimed, his upper body now jutting over the blue. “It's sure been a while, but it's every kelpie’s duty to answer the call if our land cousins are in distress…”

I caught my pony friends sharing puzzled looks before rising from their seats to approach me. “I apologize for alarming you, my friend. We're all fine and about to head back.” I apologized sincerely, stretching out a welcoming hand towards the skittish sea creature. “But I really, really need to speak to you.”

That day was a crazy day, and that's coming from me! Summer had been a blast, easily the best time I could ever remember having. The fact that I had found a new family away from home kinda sealed the deal, and I would cherish forever the times I’d spent with my friends.

And yet, just as autumn had caught up with us, my human friend Alex had come up with an offshore adventure, a very ‘summer-themed’ one, but something about technical difficulties had pushed his plans out of schedule.

Still, I had a blast trying out snorkeling, and by my family's heirloom, I was gonna go down with him next time, even if I had to get the license for it in the middle of winter!

All that sea life you only get to see in pictures, or in your town's aquarium if you're one of the lucky ones, straight up in your face! Like, you can stretch a hoof and actually touch it! It was crazy!

With all that said, one would think that, after getting a good soak in the middle of the ocean and getting front-row seats to a nature-themed documentary, the highlight of the day had passed.

“You guys say anything?”

Alex’s sudden question brought me out of my thoughts. Thoughts revolving around him. And Sunny. And the two of them being an item now which, don't get me wrong, made me as happy and excited for them as the next pony.

But, still…

“Is everything alright?” My bestie asked, the concern in her voice snuffing out the jealous thoughts from my scrambled brain.

“I thought I heard somepony…” He replied scratching his head while looking around in a feeble attempt to find anything.

‘Must’ve been the wind’ I mentally reasoned, delving back into my musings.

“... -own her-...”

Now that I had heard, the surprise in my friends' features revealed they too had caught a word or two.

Alex, for his part, practically shoved himself off the boat, eliciting an alarmed cry from our captain who was moments away from starting the twin engines of her ship.

He had caught himself at the last second though, gripping tightly the safety rope attached to the boat's rim to balance himself on the edge. With the sound of the briny sea around us, it was hard to make out clearly, but it was evident he was talking to some… thing?

Sharing one last quizzical look, we ponies shared a collective thought and rose from our seats as one, approaching on unsteady hooves our human pal to discern who or what he was speaking to.

However, just as I was about to nudge my snout over his shoulder to take a peek, Alex suddenly rose back from his crouching position to his full length, taking a step back and bumping into me.

I was about to fall to my hooves when a securing hand grasped my withers and steadied me. Sending an apologetic look towards me, Alex turned to address our group.

“Clear the deck.” He commanded in short following his own example and nudged me to the side of the boat while taking a place beside me.

Just as I was about to ask who the hay was he talking to, a shapeless mass of water rose from the ocean, scaring the fur out of our coats and forcing half of us on our rumps, our winged pals the only ones able to retain their balance. Our sudden scare worked to clear a space in the middle of the vessel as Alex had instructed, space that formless glob of seawater used as a landing pad after forming a lazy arch over us. With a resounding splash, the deck of the Sea Roach was filled with salty liquid, wetting my fetlocks and tickling the frogs of my hooves.

You would’ve expected the intruding water to slowly drain through the holes on the boat’s sides. However, our breaths were stolen away the moment the water began disobeying the laws of nature and, instead of draining away to the ocean, it slowly crawled back through the deck to reform the glob of water that had landed on our deck.

The mass of water remained shapeless as the last trickles of the clear liquid rushed to rejoin the bigger mass. It was at that moment that, to our profound astonishment, the morphing blob of water slowly began acquiring a familiar shape. A very familiar, equine-like shape.

‘There’s no way…’

Two things happened at once after. While the pony-like sketch slowly gained more definition as the morphing water slowly crawled to shape, its texture and color also changed. Darkened portions of the unsteady mass gave way to a pair of ears, a prominent snout, a pair of beady, sparkling eyes… The area where the hooves were also acquired a darker tone, becoming once again translucent the higher the legs went. Their barrel was as see-through as you would expect from water, yet around the neck and withers the water bent and twisted to form ridges similar to gills. From the forming creatures' rump, a plume of water fell and thinned to give way to a tail, or the closest thing you could get to one in liquid state.

While the creature's shape remained intact, water droplets constantly dripped from it to the wet floor, only to rejoin the main body as if pulled by an invisible force.

It barely took a few gawking moments before our jaws practically touched the deck, owlish eyes blinking stupidly at the water-made creature who, once fully formed, cast a cautionary look around, visibly alert. For a being made of water, I had no problem discerning its features, which bent and flexed almost identically to a flesh ‘n’ blood pony.

“Um…” The creature before us mumbled with hesitation, its fetlocks somehow rubbing against one another without mixing with each other. “Is any creature here in need of help? I heard your call…”

From the mass of stupefied ponies, only one could muster the strength to break from their stupor.

“A KELPIE!!!” My bestie Sunny, in her boundless curiosity, wailed loud enough for our friends back on the mainland to hear.

‘Kelpie?’

“I mean…” The creature, which now had a name, once again mumbled in its wobbly voice. “It's sure been a while, but…”

“Please, forgive my family's ignorance. It has indeed been centuries since land and sea have met. Your sight is as alien to them as it was to mine during my arrival.”

My heart swelled when he called us his family without a flicker of hesitation. I'd reward him with some unicorn cuddles later. For the time being, we had a huge elephant in the room to address.

The kelpie, a male if I had to guess, although the wobbliness of his voice made it hard to pin down the tone, took a wet step forward and, to our even further surprise, took a silent bow before our tall friend.

“Centuries may have gone by, but the sea shall ever remember the Prince who saved its waters and its people.”

“...He WHAT?!!’

“Please, my friend, I've suffered through enough bowing in my past life to begin now once again,” Alex asked the water creature, visibly uncomfortable as his feet shuffled nervously against the deck.

The kelpie obeyed and took a calm step back as he regained his posture. Now visibly at ease, he ran another exploratory gaze around, resting a second in each of us with an analytical gleam in his beady eyes.

I can't put it into words, it was SO weird!! It was made out of water, yet I could clearly see a pony looking back at me! You simply had to see it for yourself.

“Saved them? What’s he talking about?” Hitch butted in.

“A big mess with a subaquatic volcanic eruption melted straight through long-buried uraninite deposits. A lot of radioactive material became exposed to the water, and the magma and radiation began heating it up quickly.” Alex explained while taking a seat on the boat's rim, all equines and equine-likes giving him our full attention. “Radioactive material is poisonous in the long run, even in diluted concentrations; and heated seas are bad news for the resident fauna and flora. Believe me, I know...” I noticed something about him during that last part, but I couldn't quite place it. Perhaps it wasn't the first time he had heard about such a phenomenon.

Our new, wobbly friend interceded then. “The Prince of Knowledge spoke of similar happenings from his birthplace and proposed a solution which had worked in the past.”

“Which was?”

“To drop tons upon tons of sand, lead, boron, and clay over the fissure point, an artificial shielding of sorts to contain the leak and take the brunt of the heating and radiation until the temperature stabilized and the oceanic currents could distribute the excess heat safely.” He answered Zipp’s query and rubbed his face with both hands tiredly, yet a smirk of self-pride grew on his lips. “Yeah, that would've been a mess otherwise…”

“The loss of life would’ve been unthinkable if it hadn't been for the Prince of Knowledge’s early warning and planning.” Once again, he dipped his head in deference. “The creatures of the Republic of Hydropolis shall never forget that act.” He spoke solemnly.

Sunny, whose sparkling eyes had been glued to our new friend, drinking in every single droplet of his water-based body, woke herself out of her trance and, with her proudest smile that could light a thousand nights, didn't waste a second to trot over Alex and nuzzle the stuffing out of his cuddly human bear.

‘Oooh, we're very, VERY much jealous right now, Izzy…’ I grumbled inwards, conflicted thoughts distracting me from the HUGE event happening before my very eyes.

Alex was more than happy to accept his marefriend’s gesture. “I did tell you I helped a lot of creatures back then.” He half-chuckled-half-whispered, planting a grateful peck behind Sunny's ear.

I believe I was turning green from envy by that point, and green is such an ugly color when paired with lavender. Or purple. I don't know which color I am anymore!

Stupid human…

“My friend,” Alex resumed once the snuggle session was put on hold, “Please, share with us your name.” He invited with a gesture of his hand.

Funny how, even with those fingers of his, we shared enough mannerisms for us ponies to recognize some of his non-verbal language. And yet, the meaning of sticking his middle finger to somepony still eluded me. He’d claimed it was for ‘grown-ups’ to know when I’d asked.

One day…

“I believe your tongues cannot quite pronounce the words of our language.” The kelpie, more at ease with the human’s friendly invitation, stood a bit taller as the flow of water alongside his frame became less erratic.

‘Does that mean he’s calmer now?... Ugh, and I thought meeting earth ponies and pegasi was like bumping snout-first with an alien...’

“But,” The sea-dweller continued. “Ikko shall suffice, Your Highness.” He finished his introduction with a small bow.

Alex returned the courtesy, an awkward silence reigning afterward as nopony could fully bring themselves out of their stupor. Noticing the absence of yammering, our resident human fixated on the ponies with a quizzical dip of his head.

“Um… aren't you guys gonna introduce yourselves?”

Being a smarty pants like my favorite human was not a thing Izzy could do well. But making new friends, however…

My legs zeroed in on the poor kelpie faster than my thoughts could keep me rooted.

“Hi, new friend!! My name is Izzy!!”

The poor creature almost made for a hasty retreat back into the safety of the ocean, shying back from my exuberant introductions only to stumble against Alex, inadvertently blocking his escape route.

“Fret not, Ikko, you won’t find a friendlier pony in all of Equestria.” He encouraged the skittish kelpie who, somehow swallowing a nervous lump (how a creature made up of water can do that is beyond me), sent a mumbled ‘greetings’ toward my direction.

I know I may come off as a bit too much sometimes, but I just simply couldn’t help myself. I LOVED making new friends, pony or otherwise!

Also, that human was getting an extra, extra dose of snuggles later for calling me the friendliest pony around. Not like he was wrong or anything.

The rest of the ponies introduced themselves, with Pipp taking an unhealthy dose of pictures to the kelpie’s befuddlement, and my bestie barely containing her own enthusiasm, albeit hers was more… academic-oriented, let's say. Her trusty notebook would never leave her side if she could help it, and this day was no different.

“Honey,” Alex placed a restraining hand on Sunny’s scalp before she had a chance to ‘dissect’ our new friend. “I know you have a million and one questions to ask our new pal here, but I really need to speak with him first.” He requested to the mare’s disappointment. “It won’t be long, I promise. Then you can have him for yourself.” He negotiated, to which his marefriend accepted, sealing the deal with a quick peck to his lips and returning to her seat on the boat's rim.

Ikko, whose sight shifted from the human to the mare with unease, didn't look very convinced by the deal. “Um… don’t I have a say in this?”

“Sorry mate, there’s no escaping Sunny.” He jested, pointing with his thumb behind him towards the pony in question who stuck her tongue playfully at him. “But, returning to the matter at hand, I’d like to ask you to indulge me while we return to our home by the shore. I have been… away for a long time, and I’m afraid the state of the world beyond Equestria’s shores is unknown to me.” He explained, joining Sunny in his previous place while the rest of the ponies followed his example. I was left standing in the middle of the deck before hurrying to take a seat too.

“North,” Alex called to our captain, who had remained unusually silent during our short exchange, and made a rolling gesture to her with his finger in the air. North understood this as our ‘returning to port’ call and scampered behind the wheel to reignite the engines.

Soon, the familiar purr of the twin engines fighting against the current filled the air, the vibrations running through the ship’s frame tickling my rump in a familiar manner.

‘Heh, it’s like that massage chair back in Zephyr Heights’ dungeons.’ I fondly recalled.

“Now then,” Alex’s features gained a more serious taint, his hands coming to rest on his lap as his fingers drummed against one another. “I presume that, as guardians of the southern portion of the eastern waters, you guys are bound to keep tabs on the happenings of the surface world, yes?”

Ikko, unbothered by the sway of the boat since his legs' length would adapt to the raising and falling of the vessel to keep him steady, answered with a firm nod, falling in tow with the seriousness of the conversation.

“Things have gone considerably quiet for a long time now,” he offered, “but I’ll be happy to share my knowledge with the one who embodies it.”

Smirking, Alex wetted his lips. What followed was a looooong, confusing, but far from boring exchange, where both creatures covered the state of the world outside the little corner our three cities formed. They talked about the griffons of the east, the hippogriffs to the far south, the diamond dog clans beyond the Badlands, and the missing dragons at the other side of the Celestial Sea. I noticed Hitch’s ears perk at that last part.

Harpies, yaks, changelings, abyssinians, storm creatures… poor Sunny looked ready to explode with the sheer amount of information being shared, her furious scribbling barely able to keep pace with our human’s conversation with the kelpie.

It took them most of the ride back to finish their run-down of current events. To our dismay, however, Alex was far from happy with what he had learned.

Poor Ikko, having spent himself sharing as much as he knew with my favorite human, held no hope of escaping our most inquisitive friend. With what little free pages her notebook still held, she planted her rump in front of the sea creature and bore the full weight of her boundless curiosity into the unsuspecting kelpie. They’d be distracted for a while, the rest of the ponies joining Sunny in learning more about our subaquatic neighbors.

I, however, stayed back to give a concerned Alex some company. His defeated features sure called for it.

“Everything alright?” I softly called, nuzzling my way under his arm to rest against his frame.

Alex welcomed the gesture, running his fingers behind my ears and sending shivers down my spine.

“... Well, it could be worse.” He blurted out, still deep in thought. “But it also could be much better.”

“At least the other creatures are at peace, right?” I tried to cheer him up with what little I could make out of their conversation.

“That’s what it looks like, yes. At least to the sea dwellers' knowledge, nocreature is at arms with each other for the time being.” With a tired breath, he leaned against me, eyes filled with concern and a thousand questions. “But the hippogriffs have gone into hiding once again, the changelings are missing, the abyssinians have fully conquered their peninsula and have expelled the pony settlers from Shire Lanka. Nocreature has seen a dragon in what sounds like decades, and the griffins are still butting heads with the minotaurs for the easternmost reaches of Northern Essia.” Another tired sigh, his hand coming to stroke the beginnings of a beard he’d have to shave soon. “The Diamond Dogs are still up to their same old nonsense, too. Nocreature had heard anything from the yaks, which isn't that big of a surprise considering how isolated they tend to be…” I could practically hear the gears turning in his head. “I have to pay a visit to the Crystal Empire too. I bet my arm I can find more answers there.”

I grabbed his arm tightly, concerned eyes searching for his. Alex noticed my apprehension and, with a warm smile, was quick to extinguish my fears. “And you guys can come with me if you want. We’re a team, after all.”

I had promised Sunny we would protect him, and his stubborn flank was not gonna keep us away while he searched for answers or fought against the evil that threatened us. We might be embarrassingly underpowered compared to him, and I might not have possessed alicorn powers like Sunny, but Faust have it, I wasn't gonna stay on my rump while the big things happened around us. Discord’s mess up was enough of a wake-up call, and the thing with the Unity Crystals during the fair got the message across that, whatever was bound to happen, it would take our entire family to face it!

Oooh, I always felt the warmsies every time I thought of us as a family.

To my bestie’s dismay, and Ikko’s visible relief, North announced our arrival at port. So absorbed had we all been on our own things that none had noticed the shores of Maretime Bay climbing up from beyond the blue horizon.

Reducing the speed of the boat in preparation for port entry, Alex instructed us to gather our stuff and ready ourselves to exit the vessel. With a grunt of effort, he holstered his diving equipment over his shoulder and rested a foot on the ship’s rim, ready to disembark at a moment's notice.

Ikko, for his part, had decided to stick with us for a bit longer, his curiosity getting the better of him and driving him to take a quick peek over Maretime Bay, for he had never seen a land-dweller settlement of any kind. Although he would go no further than the beach, lest he run out of water and… well, you can guess.

Just as North was maneuvering to line ourselves with the wharf, a curious dip of Ikko’s head betrayed his puzzlement regarding Alex’s equipment.

“Hmm?” The human inquired, noticing Ikko’s gesture.

“Why the need for such trinkets if you could’ve used a breathing necklace, Your Highness?” The Kelpie wondered.

‘A breathing what?’

A soft bump against the wooden frame of the wharf singled our definite arrival at port. Without missing a beat, Alex jumped out of the boat and, resting his dripping equipment against the wooden surface, hurried to secure the ropes on the front end of our ride.

“Those enchantments don't work with me, I’m afraid.” He answered Ikko while tightening the knots to secure Sea Roach. “And it’s not like these ponies have a bunch of them around either.”

With a pensive hum, Ikko commented no further. Instead, in another spectacular movement, he flew out of the deck and lost himself into the greenish waters under the harbor, only to resurface a moment later a couple of meters away on the shore proper, where he promptly scared off a couple of foals who had been building sandcastles.

“Ups.” I heard him wince over the crashing of the waves.

Not wanting to keep North waiting, the rest of us disembarked with our gear. Waiting in a row on the pier, we offered to help carry all the stuff back into North’s post.

“Nonono, you guys roll over and go deal with… him.” She pointed with her snout towards the curious kelpie, who was busy taking what little of the sights you could get from the beach. “I, for one, have had enough excitement for one day.” She mumbled tiredly, on her way to get a trolley to help carry all the gear back.

“See you next time, North. We’ve gotta tackle Baltimare Port’s sunken remains next time.” Alex waved the sea mare with the promise of their next dive. The captain replied with a flick of her tail and promptly disappeared behind the door of the warehouse. With a fond chuckle, Alex left the mare to her things and ushered us to meet with the waiting Kepie over the beach, where a couple of urgent explanations to a group of concerned parents were needed to assure them the strange-looking water creature posed no threat.

Now with a couple of curious foals playing around with the kelpie, mesmerized by his weird shape-shifting and water-manipulation abilities, the rest of the morning went by, as well as a good chunk of the afternoon.

“Well, it sure has been an… interesting day.” Ikko, having entertained the foals for as much as their young attention span could hold before scampering off somewhere else, stood up from his resting place in our circle where we had been chatting leisurely to announce his departure. “But I had better head off before the tide changes. My colleagues will for sure want an explanation for my disappearance.”

With a good shake to wake his limbs up, and covering us in droplets on the way, he addressed Alex one last time. “The Republic will want to know about your return, your highness... I am compelled to…”

“I understand.” Alex interrupted him. He didn't look happy with the prospect, but cold resignation shimmered in his brown eyes. “But I ask of you to remain as you were and don’t interfere, at least not for the time being. If the ponies of Equestria or myself are ever in need of your help, I know where to find you.”

“Your Highness.” With one last bow and goodwills for the rest of us, Ikko calmly walked into the sea until his body became one with the water.

What a unique, albeit draining day it had been! Tired after so much enthusiasm, we all decided to spend the remaining part of the day at the beach and rest up for a bit, talking about the huge event that had been meeting a creature from under the waves, the first of many we all hoped.

Hitch and Zipp had fallen asleep some time ago, the snuggling pair close together as they dried their fur under the warm sun. Pipp, whilst having enjoyed the trip as much as the rest of us, could only take the dried-up feeling of her mane and tail after a nice deep swim in sea water for so long, and had excused herself for a nice, relaxing bubble bath with an unhealthy dose of mane conditioner. She had offered to grab Sparky on her way, not wanting to disturb the slumbering pair.

Another member of our team had also lost the battle to sleep. The placid form of Alex had found a comfy spot on his marefriend’s rump, resting his upper body as his arms surrounded her barrel, nuzzling the soft fur of her cutie mark as a few mumbled words occasionally escaped his dreaming mind. He had said something about having entered DECO and nitrogen poisoning making him tired. He had worried us for a second, but quickly assured us he would be fine, only that he always felt sleepy after a long dive.

Sunny was more than happy to accommodate her mate, resting on her side while running her eyes over the countess notes she had gathered on her notebook, her tail covering the slumbering human, lazily stroking his form with it as the inquisitive mare relived the day’s events though her annotations with as much excitement as while living them.

I too laid on my side near the pair, resting my head on my forelegs as I observed them, yet my thoughts drifted far away from where my sight was set.

‘You promised you’d stay well aside, Izzy. She’s your bestie, and she deserves him. You have no right to stick your snout in.’

That’s what I had been repeating to myself this past month. It was easier when it was only words and promises. But now, seeing them together like that made me reconsider a bunch of things.

‘There are other stallions out there, Izzy. One of them is sure to catch our eye eventually, right?’

But I didn't want other stallions. I wanted what was in front of me!

Perhaps it was the beginning autumn heat scrambling my brains more than usual, but I simply couldn’t get it out of my head!

My uncomfortable shifting in place was enough to gain my bestie’s attention. Unsticking herself from her notebook, Sunny caught sight of me, more precisely of me ogling the sleeping human on her rear end. It took me a bit to notice her prying eyes on me, but the moment I did, I quickly switched the peaceful human for the boring sand trapped between my crossed forelegs with an embarrassed blush.

“Sorry.” I squeaked out, knowing well it was inconsiderate to ogle somepony else’s mate like that, even during estrus season.

It hadn't been the first time she’d caught me getting a peek at her coltfriend since they’d become a couple, and I felt so guilty afterwards. But she’d never said anything, aside from a friendly word or a bit of teasing to diffuse the awkwardness.

But my luck would only run for so long…

“Izzy,” Sunny called softly. I buried my head in my forelegs in shame, ignoring her. “Izzy, look at me.”

I did so hesitantly, peeking over my forelimbs expecting a scowl of disapproval or even some harsh words. A mare only knows how heated one can get during… well, heat.

Instead of a much-deserved scolding, I was met with Sunny's concerned orbs peering into mine, an unspoken gesture with her forehoof tapping on the sand near where she lay.

I swallowed loudly and obeyed, scooting closer to the orange-furred mare while fighting to come up with an excuse or the closest thing I could muster.

Using my mane to hide myself from her, I waited in silence, an embarrassed blush heating my cheeks as I silently prayed for Alex to remain asleep.

I was expecting many things, most of them gyrating around me breaking the promise I’d made to her to catch my fish elsewhere.

But nothing on Equus could’ve prepared me for the feeling of her muzzle reaching forward and brushing aside the long strands of my mane to plant her lips on my cheek in a loving kiss.

Shameful blushing gave way to a volcano of scrambled thoughts, the place she had kissed me burning with the strength of a thousand suns.

It lasted only for a second or two, but the notion of time was erased from my mind, the only thing filling it was the image of a smiling Sunny, far from angry or disappointed, instead sending as much warmth and love as she did for her mate.

Her hoof came to rest under my chin, gently guiding my gaze to meet hers while I made my best imitation of a fish out of the water.

“B-But…”

Her hoof came to rest in my snout, swiftly cutting my stammering short.

“I know what you said, Izzy.” Her voice came as a soothing summer breeze. “And I know what it is that you truly want.”

“I-I don’t w-”

“I want it too, Izzy.”

I was simply blown away, the hammering on my chest loud enough to drone out everything else but her words.

“We promised we would care for him together, remember?”

I did remember, right after we beat Discord and returned home. We promised to look out for him after we’d seen the alarming change he’d undergone when facing his long-time-friend-turned-foe.

“Yeah, we did…” I mumbled, fond memories resurfacing.

“Well, I can't think of a better way of doing it, don't you think?” She asked with a chuckle.

‘She’s not seriously… B-But I thought we said…’

“But,” she recomposed herself a bit, “We all have to be on the same page.” Her attention shifted to the sleeping human clamped to her rear. She brushed her tail over his flat snout, eliciting a tiny sneeze and driving Alex to snuggle deeper into her plush fur.

We shared a chuckle at the adorable sight, with Sunny's gaze lingering on the human for a couple more seconds. “Just a bit longer, okay? Until we find an appropriate moment.”

She was definitely proposing what I thought she was implying. A crazy notion when it first came during that night in Zephyr Heights. Never in my wildest dreams could I have thought Sunny would not only be okay with it but actually encouraging it!

And yet, one last lingering issue remained to be tackled. “A-And, the ponies…”

“I don't care.” Sunny was quick to crush it without the tiniest hint of doubt. “I don't care, Izzy. Not when it comes to our family.”

Sunny surprised me once more by, in a swift movement, snuggling her head against my chest, intertwining her forelegs with mine, and allowing a deep, relaxed sigh to escape her nostrils.

“Our family…”

With those last slurred words, Sunny too lost the battle to slumber, joining her coltfriend and our friends in a well-deserved rest, leaving me as the sole pony still awake with a rave party happening in my head.

Several things came up front. First, did I see myself sharing a relationship with my bestie and the human who turned our world upside down?

Uh, duh! Are you kidding me?! Those two are the BEST ponies I have ever met. And one is not even a pony! You'd have to be an idiot not to jump at the chance to become something more!

‘Oooh, we're gonna be so happy, I can see it already!’

I had to make a conscious effort to prevent myself from jumping in my hooves and springing around the place in unrestrained glee. But my friends deserved a good nap, so I filed away the celebrations for a later time.

That didn't prevent me from imagining a gazillion different scenarios with the three of us as the protagonists. All the things we could do together…

All the fun we'd have together…

‘Faust above, Izzy, rein in yourself!!’

Heat hormones, you'll have to excuse me. Or not. Your loss.

Another thing came to mind, but Sunny had already made swift work of it. If she wasn't gonna give a mare’s flank about what other ponies would think of us, so would I! We’d already spent our entire lives as the misfits of our respective communities. If ponies were gonna look at our herd and stick their snouts in disgust, it’d be more of the same for us.

‘Yeah, they'll be soooo jealous when they see us together!’

One final problem was the proverbial elephant in the room. Sunny and I were on the same page, but would Alex be? We only know of his previous relationship with Twilight Sparkle, even if he still acted evasive when the matter of their rupture came up. Had he been offered the chance to form a herd in the past and refused? Is it a thing humans actually did in the first place?

I would have to tackle that bull when the time came, but knowing the human snuggled to my, hopefully, future marefriend, a tiny, sleepy smile lighting up his furless cheeks; his heart was big enough to love the both of us.

Faust knows I’d love him with all my heart in return.

Author's Note

I'm currently diving in the Maldives and was in the mood.