A cold drink at the beach under the shade of palm trees, while the kids played in the shallow water and you could forget about the world back home, that was the equestrian ideal for taking a vacation. In fact it was so well known that the tourist poster advertising Hippogriffia, depicted that exact scene. Other posters depicted Mount Aris or Seaquestria, some of them were even split in the middle showing both sides of this paradise. It was clearly aimed to attract equestrian tourist and it did. Most tourist were from Equus with the occasional rare Griffonian or even rarer Zebrican tourist in between, most likely due to the fragile and backwards nature of these continents.
"Come and experience the paradise on the equator" was plastered on every posters, it was mentioned at the end of every radio advertisement and even the small movie, filmed to promote tourism, used it as its final line. Queen Novo herself picked this motto. And what a paradise it was, nowhere else could you experience swimming and living in an underwater city, the tropical weather and the natural beauty of Hippogriffia was just a bonus on top of that. But could it beat Skyfall or Las Pegasus, that remained to be seen. Hippogriffia however still had the tropical weather as its advantage or now disadvantage. While many creature believe tropical weather is pure sunshine, perfect to lay on the beach, reality proved them wrong. Tropical rainfalls and now a hurricane quickly blew away the image of the sunny paradise on the equator.
Sitting in her office, inside one of the surface platforms of Seaquestria, Azurmar read the posters on the wall, each of them repeating the motto. With no new arriving tourists and the few that stayed, already being sheltered below in Seaquestria or on the mainland of Hippogriffia, her job was sitting around and maybe cleaning her office for the 3rd time this week. She didn´t have to worry about any consequence, the crown had subsidised the tourism industry, so it could cope with the loss of income due to the hurricane and still pay its workers. Maybe she could watch the promotion movie for the 5th time this week, to keep herself entertained.
The Surface platforms of Seaquestria were just fancy oil platforms standing on the highest and most stable coral reefs, just past the city limits of the underwater city. Its was the de facto port of Seaquestria, having big cranes for unloading cargo and a big freight elevator to transport goods to the bottom of the sea. After arriving on the bottom of the ocean, a small rail system would bring the goods into the city. Driving over Seaquestria with a ship was strictly forbidden and a system of buoys and the Lighthouse on top of the platforms ensured that this wouldn't happen on accident.
The way passenger and tourist entered Seaquestria was much more interesting and their path often led through Azurmar´s office. After arriving on the passenger platform and going through the regular customs checks, the new arrivals would be explained the rules of Seaquestria, and how to navigate it using fins, this was Azurmar´s job. Then the truly magical part would happen, standing in a moon pool and holding hands, a Hippogriff would use his shard of the pearl of transformation to transform everyone into seaponies or seapony-hybrids as is the case with non equine creatures.
This was Azurmar´s favourite part and often keeped her going through harder days of work, seeing the smiling faces of kids on their first visit or seeing the weird hybrids, like the one time a polar bear and a non disguised changeling turned into a strange "sea-bear" and a weird "sea-changeling" who´s holes were filled out with webbing, was truly something magical.
After that the tour guide would give them a small training course on how to swim, before guiding them down to Seaquestria. Should a creature want to return to their old form, they only needed to contact the surface platform. There was a 24/7 service for transforming back in forth using the same method but the other way around. It was very simple due to the fact that every hippogriff/seapony could do it, as long as they carried their shard.
But right now none of it matter. The next ships would only dock after the hurricane had passed, most likely just some ferries towards Wingarden or Zumidia and it would take weeks before the next tourists would arrive. Bored by this situation, Azurmar decided to grab another coffee from the break room. Sitting inside was her old war-comrade Silverline.
"Bored too" Silverline asked.
"you betcha" Azurmar replied.
"Days like these make me miss our greatest raid, maybe I should have stuck around and joined the new army. But then I wouldn´t have seen all these cool hybrids or those damn smiles on those little bastards."
"Our greatest raid ended in all of us being captured, remember."
"Way to be a downer, we achieved our goal and we all managed to come out unscathed." Silverline continued. " But then again you were supposed to protect us, the super soldier, at least underwater that is. Didn´t the navy asked you to become a drill instructor?"
"Yes, with a focus on on trident combat and in advanced underwater combat tactics." Azurmar thought back.
It was just days before the liberation of Hippogriffia and the death of the Stormking when their greatest raid took place. After the element bearers visited Seaquestria, Queen Novo was mobilising her forces, to strike at the Storm King and end this plight to the world once and for all. The Main force would attack him in Zumidia in the now so famous battle. But at the same time, several raids would be made against multiple ports to prevent enemy reinforcements or attacks from behind, from happening. Azurmar at the time was a protege of a famous Trident master and the winner of the seaquestrian tournament of Trident jousting of 1004. She volunteered to be part of the attack on the stormkings´s forces, but her skills would be wasted on land, so she was assigned, as protection to a group of combat diver, who were tasked with blowing up regular ships in the occupied Wingarden. She was there just in case they met any enemies or other danger beneath the waves. This is were she met Silverline.
A round of bonding and drinking on the eve of the day of their raid, was the foundation for their friendship and of the friendship to her other squad mates. At first everything went great, dodging the patrols, sneaking into the harbor beneath an incoming ship and planting the mines beneath the stormking´s regular ships. But when everyone was regrouping for the retreat, an airship hoovering above them, shoot one of those harpoon-cages at them and managed to capture everyone but one of the squadmembers. The last seapony, in a complete panic, swam into a razor-net barrier and got stuck, very similar how a pony would get stuck in barbed wire, luckily his injuries were just minor. With the entire squad captured due to the shore-based sonar listening in, the raid ended in a disaster. However somehow the storm-guards didn´t noticed the mines being planted, resulting in the destruction of the ships docked at Wingarden.
The local storm-commander was furious and wanted to make an example out of the prisoners, however when news arrived of the great battle and hours late of the stormking´s demise, she wisely abandoned those plans and surrendered the next day to the first seapony scouts arriving in Wingarden. The squad, despite being captured, got their medals and were demobilised after the short war. Due to Azurmar´s background she was offered a position as a drill sergeant, which she declined. Thinking about it now, she was never sure why she refused.
"Aris to Azurmar, do you copy" Silverline brought her back to reality by breaking her train of thought. "So what kinda tea do you want?"
"Cute, you know that I drink coffee and how I like it." Azurmar snarked
"Way ahead of you" he said, as he gave her a cup already filled with hot coffee.
"Thanks" she said before taking a sip.
After sitting down an awkward silence was forming, only occasional being interrupted by a wave hitting the nearby window. Azurmar looked deep into the darkness of her coffee, despite the weather and the boredom, this was nice, to sit in the warmth, in the presence of a friend, enjoying a good cup of coffee and just doing nothing for a couple of hours.
Yet something in the back of her mind was bugging her. She hadn´t touched a trident after the end of the war and that was years ago, what would her master think of her? Why did she abandon this talent, this path? And why did she refuse the invitation of the military, it would have been a perfect combination of her talent and of an respected job. She choose to become a tour guide partially to stay in touch with Silverline and to be close to her home in Seaquestria. But there was something more to it that eluded her in this moment. Maybe she wanted to help creatures in a non-violent way?
"Silver why did you choose to become a tour guide and not stick around in the military?" Azurmar asked in a unsure voice, silently asking herself the same question.
"I wanted to get away from the bloodshed and enjoy our paradise just like the tourist do nowadays... well maybe not today...hehe...but that is basically it. A quiet and peaceful place it the world." Silver said with a smile, which quickly faded.
"It also had to do with our greatest raid, the more time that had passed, the more I thought about the storm-guards that we possible blew up. Sure they were our enemy and they invaded us but thinking that these fins had taken a life even if justified. And if I remained in the military they would do so again. No, never again. That is also why I dont wear my medals anymore." Silverline wasn´t even looking at her anymore, he was looking at his claws as if they were dirty.
"I didn´t know you had those regrets. I don´t know why I decided against their offer, maybe it was purpose. I guess I didn´t see the need for soldiers like me anymore and with my failure to protect our squad, I didn´t feel worthy."
"You did your job you protected us against underwater threats, no one was expecting them listening in on us or the airship hoovering above us." Silver was looking at her again and put a claw on her shoulder.
"You are right, but still I could have done a better job. I mean, im a trident jousting champion and I have not touched one in years, it just feels like I have done it already and that there is nothing more to achieve. The military position seemed to be without a propose at the time, whose was there to be fought with, we had finaly peace." Azurmar paused to catch her breath and finish her coffee.
"Maybe it is direction what has been missing in your life, or a greater purpose?" Silver asked, first unsure of himself but gained more confidence in his theory, after asking the question. "That is it, you achieved everything you wanted. You are a champion in your sport, you are a decorated soldier and you already live in a paradise. Many creatures go their whole life without achieving any of these things. Maybe you just need to dream bigger or find a larger cause to get behind."
At first sceptical, his words were resonating within her. "And what greater cause do you think suits me, become the best trident jouster or start a family or are you thinking about me becoming a priestess? Fat chance." Azurmar asked sincerely at first but found this sudden "epiphany" a bit ridiculous.
"Or go into politic, preserve nature or this "paradise on the equator" just think about it maybe it will help, even if it takes a couple of weeks or months to set in." Silver finished leading to the same silence as before.
Hours later Silverline, Azurmar and a couple of colleagues were in the tourist cinema, having decided to watch the instruction videos again, that almost every tourist saw on their first visit. Then they heard screaming.
"Help! Help! My boy. I need help! Somegriff help us!" An equestrian mare was yelling in desperation.
Everygriff quickly got up and followed the shouts of the mother. when they found her they followed her to the top of the surface-platform. The young mother´s pegasus-son had climbed the lighthouse and was stuck half way to the top, while the winds were intensifying. The son´s father was trying to talk him into climbing down but the wind was silencing his appeals to reason.
"Im gonna climb up and get him down you make sure to catch him if he falls" Silverline commanded, flying in this tropical storm was completely impracticable, as the wind would simply toss the flyer into the winds direction. Gliding however was still possible if uncontrolled.
Yet when Silver was almost close enough to grab the young colt, the winds picked up again, both of them slipped and went flying. Luckily both of them had wings and could glide down, but while Silverline landed save on the platforms, the colt was pushed by the wind over the edge and towards the stormy ocean. A dockworker, that was standing near the edge realised the situation and jumped after him transforming into a seapony during the fall. Quickly grabbing the colt and holding him above the stormy sea to prevent him from drowning, the worker and the colt were taken away by the current. Everyone on the platform was running down towards the passenger dock hoping that they could throw a rope towards them and pull them back up.
But when they reached the Dock, the two were already past the dock and towards the open sea. Azurmar couldn´t believe what going to happening to the child and she wouldnt let it happen.
Quckily tying a rope around her, Azurmar ordered: "You hold the rope and pull if I give the command. No question just do, a child wont be lost today!" before sprinting down the dock, grabbing another rope and a mob that was used to clean the dock during sunnier days, she transformed and dove into the waves. Swimming as fast as she could behind the colt and Seapony trying to rescue him, she quickly used the second rope and mob to create an improvised grappling hook. Both ropes were only a couple of hundreds meter long so time was of the essence.
When she regained eye-contact with the two they were underwater, the seapony was slammed against a buoy by the current and unable to swim while the colt was grasping for air. The current was pushing them away again and Azurmar realized that the rope was starting to get stiffer, she had to do something or they would be lost. Remembering her training of trident jousting, one of which disciplines was underwater throwing, she tossed her grappling hook towards the two. It came close enough for the seapony to grasp, after which he grasp the colt that had lost consciousness and held on for dear life. Azurmar surfaced and gave the command to pull them in. There was tens of creatures on the dock, all pulling on the rope, beating the current and pulling, first Azurmar and then the colt and the dockworker onto the dock.
All three of them were quickly rushed towards the medical station of the surface platform. The Colt was resuscitated, her mother, pleading with the doctors and praying towards the royal sisters and the two hippogriffian god. He awoke with a cough before being hugged and scolded by his mother. The father broke his stern facade and broke down from all the stress with a couple of tears in his eyes: " I never thought I would be so afraid. The closest thing was me being drafted during the severyanian revolution."
The dockworker was also being attended to. He had broken 3 rips when he crashed into the buoy, however when he transformed back into a hippogriff he was missing a wing. Featherfin, was his name, quickly explained that it was a war injury he received during the great battle against the Stormking. Azurmar had only slightly shivers from the cold but was otherwise healthy.
The Equestrian tourist thanked their rescuers from their deepest of hearts and explained that they only wanted to take a nice photo of themselves and the rough sea before everything escalated. Once again thanking them from the bottom of their hearts, before the family was sent to the moon pool so they could return to their hotel in Seaquestria.
The next day the Hurricane was starting to dissipate, soon new tourist would come and be able to enjoy the summer again.
Azurmar was still thinking of yesterday, her rescue and the thrill and happiness she felt afterwards. This flurry of emotion had given her some answers for her questions but still left so many unanswered about her place in the world.
Featherfin, despite being given sick leave, visited her and Silverline in the break room, much to their surprise. They traded war stories, even if all of them had only one. While Featherfin was happy that their only combat ended with only minor pain, his story however was tugging on Azurmar´s heartstrings.
"I was part of the first assault wave, first hooves on zumidian soil, we surprised the storm guard and silenced the costal guns and the AA-batteries, so that our navy and fliers could show that darn yeti the might of Hippogriffia." Fatherfin told the two. "but then as if to destroy us personally, the airship-flagship unleashed a barrage from above on us. I can only remember the pain and screams of my comrads, but I was blinded somehow, after a while I lost consciousness and awoke 3 days later in Seaquestria with one of my butterfly fins and wings missing."
"Wow and you keep going, you tried to rescue that colts life despite your injury and you keep working and helping us" Silverline said in awe.
"Its not like, I got a choice." Featherfin said bitterly surprising both of them. " You see I was an acrobat before the war, family business, after losing my wing in that battle, that life was over. Sure you might think a soldier´s pension would be enough but no, the prices are rising and the pension stays the same, in fact the pension this year was cut in half, partially to finance the tourism industry. I just get enough to survive, not enough to actually live a good life. But hey, come to the great "paradise on the equator" where we treat our people like trash." Featherfin ranted and started sopping at the end of it: "That is what I am, a cripple used and thrown away like garbage, a life without a purpose in the world."
"How can this be, there has to be some mistakes maybe they gave the pension money to soup kitchen to better support you." Silverline desperately tried to argue, without really believing it himself.
"No, most of the soup kitchen below are run by labor unions or the commies, there is almost no support for creatures like me." Featherfin bitterly replied in a matter of fact.
"Maybe he is right. This isn´t a paradise, we have been blindly looking too much into the sun to see the shadows of our own doing, to see the clouds that are forming. Maybe there is no paradise on this planet, even Equestria under Celestia had neglected the Bat-ponies for a millennia and the revolution in Severyania, finally proved that there was no paradise." Azurmar said.
"Since when did you become a commie?" Silverline said slyly.
"Im not a commie, but I know a great injustice had been done to this and other griffs. I know now, what I want my purpose to be: to help creature that have been left behind. Featherfin, I want to help you and others like you, who gave everything for this paradise and got the short end of the stick. I plan to write a letter to Queen Novo, a petition that anyone can sign in agreement, to improve the life´s of those who gave everything to protect her rule. As for you Featherfin, if you allow me to do it, I would like to install a charity box here so that the tourist might hear about your bravery and show their gratitude, the money would be given to help those that suffer." Azurmar finished with a new formed, almost religous zeal.
"You would do that? For me, for all of us that have been scarred by the war?" Featherfin said in disbelieve, close to tears.
"I promise." Azurmar said has she hugged Featherfin.
Azurmar thought, that despite the cold weather outside, it was good knowing that the sun was always shining on the inside, filling our bodies with the warmth of summer the whole year around.
The next day Azurmar accompanied Featherfin to one of the local soup kitchen in Seaquestria to get a better look at the situation, there she meet a blue seapony, that would help guide her into a new future.
