Eastern Coast, Equestria | The Celestial Sea

Splashing out of the water, Oscar gasps for fresh breath as he pulls the mask off his face, several rough hands and hooves reaching out and pulling him up and onto the deck. Some help unclasp and take off the oxygen pack slung to his back, while others take the bag of samples he'd carefully carved from the reef below.

"All good, Oscar?" The grizzled, older captain leans down, patting his shoulder as Oscar wobbles, steadying himself against the railing of the small, refurbished fishing ship.

Oscar gives his lungs a moment, throwing up a thumbs up instead, still panting heavily.

As part of a reconstruction effort dispatched by the U.S, it's allies, and licensed by Equestria, a mixed-population sea vessel was assembled and released off the eastern Equestrian coast. The intent was to take local, healthy samples of the various coral reefs that lined the Celestial Sea, the eastern body of water to Equestria. Whatever they collect would be sent back to mixed-effort labs in Canterlot to research the magical effects, if any, and to potentially transplant large donor parts of the reef to Earth's damaged reef systems in an attempt to rebound them following significant environmental damage. The vessel for this task was The Kristonsen, dubbed after the owner and Captain of said vessel following it's rapid construction at the Fillypelphia dock houses. Hosting a crew of roughly two-dozen, it's a sizable multi-floor vessel that boasts a mixture of Earth engines and Equestrian sails.

Said vessel now floats gently atop thankfully calm waters, the warm midday offering few clouds and plenty of sun. Distant, sparkling ocean was abound in all directions that stretched far unto the horizons, with the odd speckling of an island adjoining their view.

While each Human and Pony had their own tasks aboard the ship Oscar was brought on as a professional diver, having worked as an offshore welder for several years. Not quite a one-to-one translation of his skills with his lacking history in the ecologies, that was the job of several of the scientists that remained stationed aboard. Oscar's job was to physically dive and collect the samples of whatever the egg heads requested.

He had a lengthy briefing about the kinds of things he could find in the Celestial Sea in comparison to one of Earth's oceans, and was soon jumping overboard to dive down and report his findings. Usually a good few couple hours of peaceful swimming, with the odd check-in from the vessel waiting above while he did his rounds, marking the reefs they'd visit, trying not to disturb the local ecosystems too much.

To solve the problem of treading the unfamiliar depths, Equestria had reached out to a neighboring nation to join in the efforts and to assist with the underwater efforts.

There's another loud splash behind Oscar, as his diving buddy crests the water, her hooves hooking over the side of the ship as she wiggles her head about. Once she's done shaking her still-wet bubblegum mane out of her face. She was always pretty easy to see thanks to her colors, a stark contrast of pink against the blue waters, leaning her head towards Oscar.

"You mind?" She nudges him -- Oscar leaning over to carefully run his hands through her mane, tucking it back and behind her ears, out of the way. Grabbing the hairband that's half fallen out of her mane, he quickly re-adjusts her hair, getting it back and up again. Kind of a quick and shitty tuck job, but it works for now.

"Pfeuh. Thanks, Oscar." She spits a stray strand of hair out of her mouth, smacking her lips and settling her head against the top of her hooves. Watching the typical bustle that ensued whenever they returned. Her tail slaps against the wall of the ship as she settles, eyes closing as she starts humming to herself. It was a good dive, so she's in one hell of a good mood. She usually is, but whenever they see as many fish as they just saw, she goes from cheery to downright excitable.

Bubbling Bay, or affectionately referred to as B.B, is his dive partner and Merpony guide, and has been for the last few months. As a Merpony, she was about as close as a mermaid as any sailor might properly see, even if she still had the top half of a pony. With an almost all-pink color palette, on her very short hydrophobic fur, sparkling scales, numerous fins and perpetually wet mane, she was readily and easily visible during their dives, making his job of following after her a lot easier. Though sometimes he loses her in the coral, the Celestial Sea's reefs being particularly colorful. Communication tends to be a little one-sided, based on how she's the only one that can actually speak underwater, but she's taken some time to learn some of the basics of sign language. She does pretty good for a creature without hands, though she can't quite reciprocate the gestures. Not for a lack of effort, though.

"Didn't expect such big-ass groupers, even with your warning." Oscar grumbles, peeling the hood of his wetsuit back with a loud, wet slap.

"Right?! This area is teeming with them, it's great to see. The whole region is looking really healthy."

"You coming up?"

"Uh... hey! Jim! When are we leaving again?" She calls out to one of the passing crew, who pause and check their watch.

"About an hour, we're drifting south to another reef. Should be there tomorrow." Jim adds, before already walking off.

"Well?" Oscar glances to B.B, expectantly, watching the beads of water trail down her scales.

"Think ill soak for a bit, these are some nice waters. Don't let them leave without me, yeah? I don't wanna have to swim and play catch-up again." She asks, leaning off the side, hooves extended, waiting for confirmation. Her wings twitch in anticipation. Unlike a Pegasus, they boast no feathers, more akin to an insects wings than anything.

Oscar offers a simple thumbs up of acknowledgement -- and there she goes, diving off the side and back into the depths. The way her fins part the water effortlessly, as she rockets downward with a few short strikes of her powerful tail. In moments, she goes from a warbling image of herself to a distant, hazy pink blur in the deep.

'God, what a beautiful creature.'

Another passing crewmate nudges Oscar with an elbow, catching his attention and tearing him from his thoughts.
"You're thinking out loud again, Oscar." He jeers, chuckling at Oscar as he groans. Bad habit of mumbling what was on his mind. It's a miracle B.B hasn't heard him yet.

"Yeah, yeah..." He sighs, head resting on his hand.

"Better you say something sooner than later, man." He warns, patting Oscar's back and leaving him be.

Most of said hour, is spent leant against the railing of the ship, watching the glimmer of a pink form far below the calm waves. Well, once he got out of the sopping wet wet-suit that was sticking to his skin, and back into something both more dry, and more comfortable.

When it's time to go, a few minutes of leaning off the side of the ship rhythmically slapping the surface of the water with one of the emergency rafts oars is enough to alert her. After a few moments, she breaches the surface again, smiling excitedly.

The method they use to get her onto the ship is comically similar to pulling up fish, minus the wet, frantic slapping on deck.

...

Merpony, obviously, were made for living in the water. But short of tying a rope around her waist and dragging her behind them, there wasn't much of a chance of her keeping up with the ship, so B.B rides aboard. Walking might not be her strong suit, so the way she moves across the ship requires a bit of desensitization for new crew members. Seeing a seal-like pony galumph across the deck isn't for the faint of heart.

As long as she retains some basic access to water so she doesn't dry out, it's really not much of an issue beyond her limited mobility.

In the bowels of the vessel, Bubbling Bay lets out a long, content hum, wriggling playfully in place. She's laid out on her stomach across her bunk, the mattress of which has been thoroughly wrapped with a waterproof sheet. Oscar sits on a stool beside her, flashlight in mouth as he leans over her, a pair of tweezers in hand. He's slowly working his way down her back, inspecting her for irritant scales.

"Thanks for agreeing to this, Oscar. It's a pain to do myself." B.B's eyes are closed, clearly enjoying the attention as his fingers trace her scales, waiting for her say-so.

"No problem, B.B. Doesn't take that long." Oscar replies as he takes the flashlight from his teeth, leaning closer to get a better look. And, you know... a chance to look at a creature that was right out of a fantasy novel up close, in a way that wasn't weird.

"Ah--that one!" She suddenly announces, Oscar's hand freezing over part of her tail, just adjacent to the largest fin. His fingers carefully brush the numerous, minute scales, looking for the culprit. It's pretty easy to find the one scale that wiggles just a little too much, Oscar shifting his seating to get a good grip on it with his tweezers.

"Apparently Pegasi do something like this too? Preening or something?" Oscar asks, more looking for confirmation than actually trying to state something.

"A fair amount of Pony species have some kind of upkeep, typically related to their magic, as far as I'm aware. Unicorns and horncare, Pegasi and their wings like you said, Earth Ponies and their hooves... and Merpony and their everything." She laughs, getting settled again.
"Our scales, our fins, our wings, our tail... I'm afraid we're a liiiittle high maintenance. That's why I appreciate the help so much."

"Sure, you just gotta ask. Oh, by the way, B.B, another question born of general curiosity for you." Oscar asks, sticking his tongue out as he focuses, trying to grab the little bugger with a few quick snaps.

"Sure, Oscar. What?" She opens her eyes, looking over her shoulder.

"How do you breathe? You've got the upper half of a pony, so I assume you've got lungs, but you've got gills on your neck too. Do they feed into each-other, or...?"

"Our gills, as long as they're sufficiently hydrated, can process the oxygen from both water and air without issue. The key there is just making sure I keep wet." She readily explains, excited he's taken an interest.
"I don't actually breathe from my mouth! It's pretty much just for talking and eating. Neat, huh?"

:)

Oscar keeps his thoughts to himself, instead responding with another question.

"Is there a difference between salt water and fresh water for you, then? Do you handle one better?" Oscar manages to pluck the little wriggler, tossing the loose scale onto the small pile.

"Uh..." The question actually confuses her, tapping her chin with a hoof in thought. It takes her several contemplative moments, of which Oscar has plenty of time to work further down her tail, before she simply shrugs.
"I... don't think it does?"

"Probably another bonus of your fish magic."

"Merpony magic, Osc--Youch!!" She suddenly flinches, staring down herself and the scale Oscar has in his tweezers.
"I don't think that one was ready, Oscar."

"Oop. Sorry."

...

Evening, golden light splashes across the beach they'd stopped at, some of the more science-types taking a few samples of the local area. In the meantime, with nothing to dive for, Oscar had wandered off to the beach, rounding unto B.B as she sat in the sand, tail swishing back and forth. Beads of water still dribble down herself despite the sand clinging to her scales, evident that she just emerged from the waters a moment prior. He's quickly noticed, and she waves him over, excitedly patting the sand beside herself.

Oscar slowly approaches, sighing wistfully as he sits down with her.

'...Beautiful.'

"It really is, isn't it? I love doing this kind if stuff. I could lounge on a beach like this for... hours..." She's excitedly pointing outward with her hoof, glancing at him as she speaks. Then her words slow as she double-takes, seeing just how focused his attention is on her, and not the waves lapping at the beach.

'Maybe one day I'll tell her,' Oscar muses quietly to himself, sighing wistfully as his gaze floats across her lightly wet, sparkling scales. 'The way her fins catch and refract the sunlight. The way she gets so excited about every little thing, the way that soft smile never leaves her face.'

"Uh... Oscar."

"Mm?" He sighs, tearing his wistful gaze from her tail, to her face.

"You're, uh... talking out loud again. And staring." There's a ferocious blush across B.B's snout that's managing to compete with her pink fur, ears flat against her head.

"Oh, uh..."

"...You really think so?" She asks quietly.

Oscar slowly offers his hand, which B.B tentatively takes with her hoof, laying it on his palm.

"I do." He affirms.

"...But you're a Human. And I'm a Merpony. That's kind of weird, isn't it?"

Oscar stifles a laugh.
"I guess so, yeah. Is weird bad?"

She seems pensive for the moment, watching the water draw back from the sandy ground they sit on.

"Is you helping me with my scales a thing for you?" She suddenly lunges forward, poking his stomach.

"Uh..." Oscar stammers, and his hesitation only furthers the shock that takes B.B's face.

"Is it really?!" She gasps.

"W-well..." Oscar grimaces.

...

One of the crewmates, watching the pair bicker on the beach, passes the binoculars they'd been observing with to another crewmember. B.B is waving her hooves around erratically, while Oscar holds his hands up, scooting back.

"Told ya, Jim." He sneers, graciously accepting a huffy, crisp five dollar bill in his hands.

"Thought he'd still take another week, at the least. Whatever. You know you can't use that until we get home, right?"

"Yeah, but it's the principle of it."

Jim rolls his eyes, leaving his fellow crewmate to snoop.

Author's Note

Apparently hypogriffs turn into merpony and vice versa or something, don't care that's stupid they're two separate species now

Also I don't give a shit about the logistics of it every merpony is a throatgoat