Part 1

Honey Glaze is on a train. This is a new experience, but like most things, it stirs no emotions inside her. There is as little excitement as there is discontentment in her demeanor.

In stark contrast, the griffon sitting next to her is having a wonderful time despite having supposedly rode a train before. Gabby squeals as the sights pass by outside the window, her talons and face pressing against the glass. Honey Glaze is able to mostly ignore the sensation of the griffon’s tail occasionally batting her in the snout as it whips around happily.

Honey Glaze was on this train because she was being sent to the school of friendship in Ponyville. She was going to the school of friendship because, according to her parents, she was ‘antisocial’ and ‘in dire need of friends’. Honey Glaze didn't personally see any problem with sitting silently in her room in her house in the Kirin Grove all day, but she supposed she could agree on the ‘antisocial’ point. Honey Glaze had almost never talked. Ever.

Honey Glaze had been born shortly after the vow of silence had been taken in the Kirin Grove, where the kirin passed through the Stream of Silence, magically muting them and quelling all emotions. The reason the Kirin had done this was because, if overtaken by anger, they enter their fiery ‘Nirik’ form. At one point before her time, the Kirin village had burned down in the havoc of several Kirin getting angered and becoming Nirik, spreading anger and flames.

The destruction had been bad enough to warrant none of them talking again, supposedly. It'd only end up lasting a few years or so though, when Applejack and Fluttershy– two of the elements of harmony– were sent to help better the Kirins’ ways, and convince them to revoke the vow of silence.

Now everypony could talk again, including Honey Glaze. She didn't… want to talk, though. The weird thing about being born during the vow of silence was that she grew up without a voice, and without emotions. Once the vow of silence had been lifted, Honey Glaze actually had to be taught how to speak a few years after she probably should have been able to on her own under normal conditions. Her voice felt… alien to her, though. It was strange to talk. It sounded wrong. So she didn't do it. She settled on nods or head shakes.

Seeing as she'd refused to speak under ordinary circumstances, Honey Glaze had learned to be largely self-sufficient in her early years. Most notably, she felt she had become sufficiently adequate at cooking– which was probably the activity during which she experienced the closest thing to ‘joy’.

In addition to not liking her voice, it was safe to say that Honey Glaze didn't have a very pronounced personality. For all the other Kirin, when the vow of silence lifted, they regained their emotions and personality. For Honey Glaze, though, she didn't really have a personality to go back to. She was like a magical construct without the ability to process emotion.

Honey Glaze's parents would often lament their ‘mistake’ of ‘ruining Honey Glaze by silencing her at such a young age’. This was part of the reason she was being sent to the friendship school, which was the main reason she was on this train.

The reason Gabby was on this train with her was because the journey between the Kirin Grove and Ponyville, even by train, is a several day-long process. Gabby occasionally delivers letters to and from the Kirin Grove almost exclusively for Autumn Blaze, a Kirin who'd broken the vow of silence early and helped convince the rest of the village to break it too.

When word of the friendship school had reached the grove, Honey Glaze’s parents had jumped at the opportunity to get in contact with the hope of sending Honey Glaze to the school. It had taken a while, but Honey Glaze had eventually been enrolled over the long distance with the help of Gabby. Gabby was now helping to supervise Honey Glaze on her way to Ponyville, mostly because she'd wanted to, ‘just for fun!’.

And some fun she's clearly having as her tail whaps Honey Glaze on the snout for the 37th time in the past 45 minutes. It was alright, though. If all went well, the train should arrive in Ponyville in around 3 days, pretty much getting her there just in time for the opening day of the school.

Honey Glaze isn't sure how to feel about going to the school of friendship. It would certainly be a change of pace from her life in the grove. She couldn't say she had any strong feelings regardless. Gabby's tail hits Honey Glaze in the face again. “Glaze, look! The mountains are moving!” She says excitedly, pointing towards some spot up and to the right ahead of the train. Honey Glaze looks up from her hooves for the first time since she'd sat down on the train today. She peers out through the window. The mountains did seem to be moving in some capacity.

In fact, there was actually a massive landslide falling towards the tracks.

Moments after Honey Glaze makes this connection, she hears somepony scream “LANDSLIDE!!” and the entire train car bursts into a panic. Well, besides Honey Glaze, anyways.

The screeching of metal can be heard as the brakes are pulled on the train, sending sparks up into the view of the windows as the wheels grind against the tracks. Honey Glaze remains seated as the train rather slowly comes to a stop. As it finally halts, the landslide rumbles past, only a mere couple of train cars’ distance from the front of the train. The rails in front of the train are utterly covered by rocky debris, and probably destroyed underneath too. Gabby exhales with fear and relief after a moment. Honey Glaze blinks.

A few minutes later, a train attendant steps into the passenger car. “Attention, passengers! Due to the landslide, the train will be reversing a short way and redirecting to Griffonstone. The train will not be able to continue down this way until the tracks are repaired. We apologize for the inconvenience!” He announces, before heading to the next passenger car to give the same spiel.

Well, then. It was safe to say this might prevent Honey Glaze from getting to the school on time.

Part 2

Despite the recent close encounter with disaster, Gabby was right back to being excited as the train chugged along. “I can’t wait for you to see Griffonstone!” She says, vibrating with joy. “It’s so cool there! But also I know you’re probably worried you won’t make it to the school on time.” She adds.

‘Worried’ wasn’t quite the word that Honey Glaze would use. ‘Inconvenienced’ fit better, and mostly just because it meant she had to make a new plan of action. “I’ve got a solution, though! I know a griffon that should be able to help. I’m sure you’ll like him!” Gabby beams. Honey Glaze blinks. She looks out the window, seeing the Celestial Sea all the way out to the horizon as the train travels over a long bridge on the way to Griffonstone, the sunset painting the ocean in hues of orange and purple as it sinks past the waves.

When the train finally comes to a stop in Griffonstone, most of the passengers get off rather shakily. Train attendants urge those who don’t have anywhere to stay to remain by the train until they can work out temporary lodging in Griffonstone, free of charge as compensation for the sudden disaster. That doesn’t sound like a bad idea to Honey Glaze, who doesn’t really have any money or a place to stay currently. Gabby seems to have other plans, though.

“C’mon!” Gabby urges, grabbing Honey Glaze’s hoof and dragging her somewhere with a purpose. Honey Glaze doesn’t say anything, but Gabby seems to sense her hesitance. “After tonight, you’re only going to have 3 days to get to the friendship school before it opens, and after that, you’ll be missing classes!” She explains while running with Honey Glaze in tow.

“There’s no way that landslide will be cleared in time, so we’re gonna need a more direct mode of transport, and now. Thankfully, I happen to know just the griffon for the job!” She chirps giddily. Honey Glaze admits to herself that Gabby has a point. She breaks free from her grasp, now following willingly. Gabby leads Honey Glaze through disorganized streets, narrowly avoiding passersby.

Honey Glaze had never been to Griffonstone before, but she’d heard it’d undergone some rather rapid changes in the past decade or so. There was a large, central mesa of sorts in the center of the city, upon which there was some kind of massive petrified tree with houses built into and around it. Along the sides of the mesa, many criss-crossing paths and tunnels had been dug out, almost like an ant farm. Lastly, at the base of the mesa, there were basic houses and roads, though they seemed a bit more impoverished than the buildings farther up the mesa.

Currently, Gabby and Honey Glaze were in the bottom section, since the train didn’t travel up the mesa, and they were currently headed towards the outskirts of the city to the west. Honey Glaze wasn’t sure what Gabby was planning, but she was beginning to have her doubts as the quality of the buildings around them continues to get shanty-er as they get farther from the center of Griffonstone.

They seem to be following the only street that goes this far out actually, and Honey Glaze realizes why that is as she sees a large seaside port come into view over a hill. Sailboats are anchored all along the docks, though there doesn’t seem to be much activity at the moment, with only a few individuals walking along the piers. Honey Glaze tails Gabby as she runs along the docks, her sights seemingly set on a small wooden house of sorts suspended by wooden beams above the water at the edge of one end of the port.

Gabby barely stops when she reaches the front door, slamming it open excitedly without even knocking. Honey Glaze hears a loud squawk of surprise from inside, followed by a thump and some clattering before she catches up to Gabby.

“Hiiii, Uncle Glidder!” Gabby squeals. Honey Glaze peeks over Gabby’s shoulder and through the doorway, seeing an older griffon scrambling to his feet from the ground.

“By th' gales, what do ye’ think yer doin’, jus’ burstin’ in here like that!?” Glidder barks, clearly disgruntled. Gabby steps back as Glidder steps into the doorway to look down on her. “An’ it be CAPTAIN Glidder to ya', ye’ little scoundrel.” He grumbles.

“Aye aye, captain!” Gabby says happily, unfazed. She salutes. Captain Glidder puts a claw to his temple. With the captain now in the light, Honey Glaze can make him out more clearly. The griffon is clearly quite aged, seemingly almost balding in spots. His feathers are primarily a dirty white color, though his wings were probably quite majestic in his hey-day, with a blend of blues, reds, and greens down them. Or at least one of them. He appears to be missing his left wing, with all that remains being a stump tipped by a wooden peg– like, one that would go on your leg if you lost it. The wing-peg seemed unnecessary to Honey Glaze. Captain Glidder also wears an eyepatch over his right eye, and a ragged brown tricorn on his head.

Captain Glidder glares down at Gabby with his good eye. “Well?” He asks, his tone accusatory.

“‘Well’ what?” Gabby asks.

“What are ye’ doin’ randomly bargin’ into me house and wakin’ me up??” He cries.

“Oh, right! We need your help to sail through the Celestial Sea!” Gabby explains.

“We?” Captain Glidder asks, confused. Gabby turns his head slightly to the right so that his good eye finally sees Honey Glaze. Honey Glaze blinks. “Oh! Din’t see ye’ there, lass!” His expression lightens, before returning to annoyance as he looks back at Gabby. “And what makes ye’ think I’ll go an’ do that for ye’? You know as well as I that the Celestial Sea is rather dangerous this time a’ year.” He scowls.

“But Honey Glaze needs to get to the friendship school in the next 3 days, and the train is blocked by a landslide!” Gabby pleads.

“Tough luck then, young’n.” Captain Glidder says, turning back towards the door.

“Wait!” Gabby cries. Captain Glidder turns for a moment. Gabby’s pupils seem to grow big and innocent. Honey Glaze believes the term is ‘puppy-dog eyes’.

“No, yer’ not gettin’ me with that this time..!” Captain Glidder huffs, but he can’t seem to tear his gaze away from Gabby’s. Gabby’s eyes sparkle. “You know this is cheatin’!” Captain Glidder says with a hint of fear, straining to break eye contact. Gabby wordlessly clasps her talons together, holding them below her head in silent plea. “ARGH, alright, fine! Ye’ win!” Captain Glidder cries out in defeat.

“Yay!” Gabby cheers, doing a celebratory aerial flip. Honey Glaze blinks.

“Go ahead n’ get on ol’ Ms. Fortune.” Captain Glidder sighs, gesturing to a sailboat tied to the dock. Gabby flies onto the boat, before dropping down a little plank bridge for Honey Glaze to climb aboard. Captain Glidder follows suit.

“Alright, you two!” Captain Glidder announces, standing up by the wheel of the ship. “So long as yer’ both ridin’ on Ms. Fortune, yer’ part of my crew, an’ will act as such!” He declares. “That means helpin’ me keep er’ floatin’ in one way or another. If I give ye’ a command, you follow it! Got that?” He barks, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes sir, captain sir!” Gabby agrees cheerily. Captain Glidder looks at Honey Glaze. She simply nods.

“Good.” He says, satisfied. With that, he raises the sails, and Ms. Fortune pulls away from the port, heading West. The sun is nearly all the way past the horizon now, and the moon is beginning to rise from behind the ship.

“With all that bein’ said, it's probably time you two little ladies got your sleep. I'll need your help tomorrow. We sail by night and stop by day, lest we incur the wrath of…The bellowhales.” Captain Glidder says in overly dramatic fashion. Gabby gulps slightly. Honey Glaze blinks.

“As such, I'll most likely be sleepin’ durin’ the day. I'll leave a list o’ chores for you two ta’ do in the mornin’. Beds are below deck when yer’ ready ta’ hit the hay, so to speak.” Captain Glidder says, pointing to an open doorway with his good wing. Honey Glaze briefly considers asking what a ‘bellowhale’ is or why they apparently wouldn't be sailing during the day, but she didn't quite care enough to warrant… speaking. Also Gabby was already ushering her below deck with excited promises of ‘a sleepover, eeee!’.

Now, Honey Glaze was on a boat, staring at the ceiling below deck in a rickety bed. This was a new experience, but like most things, it stirred no emotions inside her. “Psst..!” Gabby whispers from the bed next to Honey Glaze’s. “Are you asleep yet?” She asks in a hushed tone. Honey Glaze didn't know how she could have been asleep yet since it’d been all of 30 seconds since they'd gotten into bed.

“That might have been a dumb question.” Gabby adds. Honey Glaze blinks. “I, uhm…” Gabby pauses. A few moments pass. “Nevermind. Goodnight.”

Several hours later, Honey Glaze wakes up to the loud snoring of Captain Glidder. She sits up, seeing that he’s passed out in a hammock across the room. Honey Glaze looks to her right and is mildly surprised to see that Gabby isn’t in bed. Honey Glaze had been expecting to get woken up by her.

Honey Glaze gets up and out of bed. She recalls Captain Glidder mentioning a “list o’ chores” to do in the morning. She steps above deck, seeing Gabby standing at the bow of the ship. Gabby turns around as Honey Glaze approaches, and seems to hesitate when she sees her, before steeling herself. “Good morning, Honey Glaze!” She says happily. Despite her tone, Honey Glaze feels like there's something off about Gabby's demeanor. Before she can really investigate though, Gabby walks over to a paper nailed to the main mast. She takes it in her talons to read it, and Honey Glaze looks over her shoulder.

“Seems like we've got 3 main chores while the ship is anchored for the day; Patch the sails, swab the deck, and scrub the hull of barnacles…” Gabby makes a bit of a face at the last one. “I’m going to get started on patching up the sails, since I’ve done it before, and I can fly up to them.” Gabby explains. “If you could get started on one of the other two, that’d be great kthanksseeya!” She says quickly, darting below deck, presumably for sail-patching supplies. Honey Glaze narrows her eyes slightly. Then blinks.

Honey Glaze walks to the edge of the boat, peering over the side. The hull is rather infested with barnacles. Evidently it has been a while since Captain Glidder cleaned it. She begins to remove the barnacles with her magic, though it’s a rather slow process. It easily takes a few hours to clear all the ones visible above the water. Meanwhile, Gabby finishes patching the sails and gets done cleaning the deck too. With the chores done, Honey Glaze gets ready to stare into space for the next several hours, but before she can, Gabby’s stomach rather loudly rumbles.

“Oof, I’m hungry after all that work!” Gabby exclaims. “I’m gonna go see if there’s anything to eat below deck.” She says, walking off. Honey Glaze herself isn't particularly hungry yet, and prepares to resume space-staring, before she hears a scream of dismay. Honey Glaze travels downstairs to see what the matter is, and finds Gabby sitting in front of an open pantry, looking deflated.

“I forgot to get food before we left on this trip, and there's, like, nothing to eat!” She wails. “I was supposed to be responsible..” she mumbles quietly to herself as Honey Glaze looks over Gabby at the contents of the pantry.

There's a bag of oats, a couple old oranges, and some dried seaweed. Not to mention quite a few cobwebs and a spider or two. Honey Glaze looks back down at Gabby. Honey Glaze isn't intricately savvy in reading others, but it doesn't take a genius to see that she's sad. Honey Glaze looks back at the lackluster ingredients in the pantry. It wouldn't be her finest work, but she figured breakfast might help cheer up the griffon. She levitates the ingredients over to a makeshift stove top and gets to cooking.

Gabby looks up from her defeated state on the floor as she suddenly smells something. She turns around, seeing Honey Glaze across the room whipping something up in a pot, a small fire lit in the stove below it. Gabby stands up, slowly walking over to get a closer look– and a closer sniff.

The aroma wafting from the pot is alluringly good, and Gabby looks over Honey Glaze's shoulder to see that she's stirring oatmeal. Gabby also notices little bits of orange mixed in, and she watches as Honey Glaze procures a small jar of honey from her personal bag and drizzles some into the oatmeal, only adding to the wonderful smell. Honey Glaze hardly seems to notice Gabby behind her as she's absorbed in the cooking process.

The scent apparently also wakes up Captain Glidder, as he gets up from his hammock and walks up on the other side of Honey Glaze. He exchanges a silent glance with Gabby as they both wordlessly watch the show, not wanting to interrupt Honey Glaze.

When Honey Glaze finishes, she portions out the oatmeal between two bowls and turns around. She's a bit surprised to find both Captain Glidder and Gabby standing behind her, though it barely shows on her face. She looks down at the oatmeal bowls, before offering them to the two griffons. Captain Glidder happily snatches it, digging in. Meanwhile, Gabby takes it a bit hesitantly, looking grateful, though also guilty.

“This be some of the–” *munch* “--best food I've ever–” *snarf* “--eaten on the high seas!” Captain Glidder says between mouthfuls of oatmeal. “Just where did ye' learn ta' cook?” He asks. Honey Glaze shrugs. Captain Glidder gulps down the rest of his food, sighing contentedly. “Not much of a talker, aye?” He muses. Honey Glaze blinks. “Well, maybe yer' more of a listener! Perhaps I can repay ya' with a' couple of me world-famous stories?” He winks with his one good eye.

The three sit down on the floor below deck as Captain Glidder recounts epic tales of his grand adventures (that are probably quite embellished). Honey Glaze snacks on little thin, crispy seaweed chip things she made from the seaweed in the pantry, listening to the stories with vague interest. She can't help but notice that Gabby seems oddly silent though, picking at the oatmeal and avoiding eye contact.

A few hours pass, and the sun begins setting past the horizon. “Well, I reckon it's about time I got the sails raised again.” Captain Glidder declares. “We should be reachin’ Hoof City by the next night if we..” Captain Glidder yawns “..keep this pace.”

Honey Glaze still wasn't clear on why they had to stop at day and sail at night, but as long as they got there on time, it didn't matter too much to her. Captain Glidder begins to head upstairs. “I suggest you two be gettin’ ta’ bed soon.” He advises, before disappearing above deck.

Before long, Honey Glaze and Gabby are in bed once again. “...Uhm, Honey Glaze, are you awake?” Gabby asks after a couple minutes. “...You probably are.” She adds nervously.

“I'm, um… sorry. About how messy this trip has been so far. I'm not sure I've been doing a good job of being responsible for you. If anything, it's been the reverse...” She pauses.

“I get the impression you don't talk much, but I still can't help but feel like you might be mad at me.” She pauses again. “...are you mad? At me?” She asks. “It's fine if you are..!” She adds quickly. Honey Glaze wasn't mad at Gabby at all. The griffon had been nothing but helpful for the most part. Honey Glaze wanted to tell her. She wanted to reassure her. Honey Glaze opens her mouth.

“...”

Nothing.

Honey Glaze closes her mouth.

A few moments pass. When nothing comes, Gabby sighs. “Goodnight, Honey Glaze.” She says sullenly. Honey Glaze feels a twinge of… sadness? Regret? Inadequacy? Her mouth curls down slightly against her will. She closes her eyes.

She wakes up some amount of time later. Judging by the light filtering in through the stairway, it's morning. Honey Glaze looks around. Gabby appears to still be asleep, but oddly enough, Honey Glaze doesn't see Captain Glidder anywhere below deck.

She slowly steps up the stairs, and finds that the ship is still sailing. Wasn't Captain Glidder supposed to stop it during the day? She turns around to see Captain Glidder asleep at the wheel of the ship. Honey Glaze walks over to him. She gently pokes him. He continues sleeping.

With her options exhausted, Honey Glaze wanders to the side of the ship, looking out at the sea. The sun must have only risen a couple hours ago at most. Honey Glaze looks down at the water just below the ship, seeing the fish swimming past. She also sees… something else? A dark shape below the ship. She leans over the edge a little. The shape was getting bigger. Maybe she should try to wake Captain Glidder again.

Honey Glaze turns to head back towards Captain Glidder, but loses her balance as something collides with the ship, rocking it heavily. Captain Glidder awakens with a squawk at the sudden shaking as Honey Glaze falls forward, landing on her stomach. A loud, almost piercing wail-like cry emanates from under the ship, the vibrations reverberating through the wood of the boat and through Honey Glaze's bones.

“BELLOWHALE!!” Captain Glidder screeches.

Gabby comes flying up the stairs as Honey Glaze scrambles to her hooves. Captain Glidder spins the wheel of the boat, trying to steer away from the bellowhale below them. “YE' BEST BE HOLDIN’ ONTO SOMETH– AAAAH!!” Captain Glidder yells as the boat begins to tip to the side, sending him sliding towards and over the edge, hanging onto the railing with his claws. Honey Glaze slides too, but grabs hold of the main mast, meanwhile Gabby flies up.

“UNCLE GLIDDER!” She cries, speeding over to help him up. Honey Glaze catches movement out of the corner of her eye, and looks up to see a group of flying creatures far overhead and in the distance. She thinks they look like… dragons? She doesn’t get to finish her thought when suddenly, the boat is let go, violently rocking back the other way. Captain Glidder and Gabby are sent sprawling back onto the deck in a heap, and Honey Glaze is sent over the edge of the boat.

She lands in the water with a splash, disoriented. She looks around, and her eyes widen at the sight of the massive, black, whale-like creature below the ship. It doesn’t seem to see her, or even have eyes for that matter. It lets out another loud wailing noise that practically vibrates Honey Glaze from the intensity as it seems to be trying to pull the ship underwater. Honey Glaze attempts to paddle to the surface, but she’s never really swam much, and the powerful waves from the altercation between the ship and the bellowhale leave Honey Glaze unable to breach the waves.

Her movements begin to grow weaker. Suddenly, there’s another splash from overhead. Honey Glaze looks up hazily, expecting to see Gabby or Captain Glidder, but instead, it’s a dark indigo-colored pegasus she doesn’t recognize. She seems to be diving down towards Honey Glaze, who doesn’t resist as the pegasus grabs her, pulling her up with impressive strength. The pegasus breaks the surface of the water, somehow managing to fly up with Honey Glaze in tow, and landing on the ship. She lets Honey Glaze down, who coughs up water.

“Might wanna grab something, cuz’ the Cinder Express is preparing for takeoff!” The pegasus calls, before flying up. With a powerful flap of her wings, she blows a massive gust of wind into the sails of the boat, sending it rocketing forward at high speed. The boat audibly creaks from the strain of moving so quickly, but it seems like a better alternative to the bellowhale, who’s cries fade into the distance as the boat sails off. After a couple minutes, it begins to slow down and coast at a more regular speed.

The pegasus lands back on the boat, shaking water from her fiery orange and yellow mane. “Well, that was fun.” She says coolly. “I’d love to stick around for your applause, but I gotta catch up to my mom unless I want her to throw me in a pool of lava before I ever make it to that dumb friendship school.” She prepares to take off.

“Wait,” Honey Glaze thinks desperately. She’s still reeling from everything that’s happened in the past couple minutes, but one thing she knows is that she wants, no– needs to express her gratitude. She surely wouldn’t be alive right now if that pegasus hadn’t saved her. Honey Glaze opens her mouth, but only manages to splutter as she hacks up more seawater. Before she’s able to compose herself, the pegasus jets up, the force of her takeoff rocking the boat slightly. Honey Glaze looks up helplessly as the pegasus bolts away into the sky.

“Honey Glaze, are you okay!?” Gabby cries out, rushing over to Honey Glaze. She helps her to a standing position. Honey Glaze is still looking up, and Gabby follows her gaze. “It sure is lucky they were here to save our feathers… and YOU– are you OKAY??” She asks again, a little more frantically. Honey Glaze nods. “Phew.” Gabby sighs. She pulls Honey Glaze into a sudden, tight hug. Honey Glaze freezes a moment, before tentatively returning it.

Gabby breaks the hug. “Wow, you are VERY wet.” she says, now sharing some of the seawater Honey Glaze had unwillingly brought back aboard.

“Good news, gals!” Captain Glidder calls from the front of the ship, looking out. Gabby and Honey Glaze come up beside him, and see land in the distance. “I reckon we’re in th’ clear.” he declares. “An’ not a moment too soon! My poor ol’ Ms. Fortune has seen better days.” He leans down, patting his ship lovingly and shushing it reassuringly.

Honey Glaze looks back up at the sky again. She can’t see that pegasus anymore. Honey Glaze wishes she’d had enough time to say… something. ‘Thanks’, maybe, though Honey Glaze felt like that wouldn’t cut it. She looks down at her soaked hooves. Maybe… maybe she still could. Honey Glaze recalls the pegasus mentioning going to the friendship school. She looks back up at the sky once more.

Honey Glaze wavers. Was she even sure she’d be able to say anything to her? Honey Glaze feels like she has to. But…

But what? Honey Glaze feels a tiny, indignant spark of anger at herself– at her inability to speak. This was important. Surely she could speak once.

She sighs, the spark fading.

Honey Glaze blinks.

Well, then. It was safe to say that this might finally stir some emotions inside her.

Author's Note

I don't anticipate it really coming up later in the series, so I figure I ought to explain what a 'Bellowhale' is, since it doesn't really fully get brought up in this prologue, either.

The Celestial sea connects the two poles of whatever the world in MLP:FiM is called (Earth??), and bellowhales live in the deep, icy water around those poles. They're usually quite deep down, because they need cold environments to live. However, as the seasons start to get colder, the Celestial Sea becomes just cold enough for bellowhales to pass through.

They're blind, and instead of sight, primarily use their wails to echolocate. They're also not the smartest creatures ever. Because they're a similar size to many sailboats, if they sense one, they'll assume it's another bellowhale. During the night, it's cold enough that bellowhales can get close to the surface, but during the day, it's warmer. If a bellowhale senses that another bellowhale is at the surface during the day, they'll try to pull them down to colder waters-- which is why they try to pull down boats that sail during the day.

It's probably a little weird, and maybe doesn't entirely make sense, but I wanted a sea monster of some kind and felt like I had to make one to fulfill what I wanted for the story, so this is what I came up with.