Nerath

Afternoon sunlight splashed into the Aquarium from tall windows, accenting the purple and navy-blue walls with orange. The low susurration of distant adult conversation was punctuated with the high cries of foals and soothing, generic music. Ahead of Twilight, the tangerine stallion in the blue uniform was directing ponies to stand in front of a large aquatic-themed backdrop.

“Right over here. Now look that way.” Was his voice that sharp? Or was it the headache throbbing out from her thalamus? Probably both. “You can find your photos at the kiosk.” She tried not to grimace as he turned her way, voice even louder than before. “Right over here please. Now look that way.”

His smile was broad and toothy, but it did not reach his voice, somehow. Twilight did as she was told, turning her back on the sea lion and the octopus cavorting behind her. At least he wasn’t treating her any different than anypony else in this city. Just another tourist.

A flash from somewhere she couldn’t identify left her blinking. “You can find your photos at the kiosk.” Twilight nodded, her head swimming, and moved along, leaving the glow of sunlight for the shadowed mysteries ahead.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Silhouettes of ponies milled about the first room in the aquarium, chatting and pointing. The gloom was punctuated by brightly lit displays promising information in exchange for attention; a fair trade, they insisted. But Twilight stood, transfixed, in front of a kiosk, willing it to work. They’d had their pictures taken, hadn’t they? So where were they?

“C’mon Twilight,” Spike’s voice urged, “They’ve got a pool where you can pet sea stars! Let’s check it out!”

“Just a minute.” Twilight squinted at the screen, trying to make out the tiny text through the glare. They had purchased the tickets, right? Then they were ushered in front of a screen, there was a flash… A voice told them they could collect the pictures at a kiosk, yes. All very friendly. All very normal.

“But we’re wasting time, though. Let’s just wander around!” The weight on Twilight’s back shifted closer, but Spike’s voice sounded further away than before. “Oooohh, jellyfish!”

The Aquarium smelled strange, like old brine and fish. It reminded Twilight uncomfortably of the market in Griffinstone. Twilight sighed, giving up on the prospect of free pictures, and turned away. There was quite a lot to see. She found a free spot near a tide pool and sidled up to it. There were spiny little urchins adorning some mossy rocks, orange anemones drifting gently with the water, fat little sea stars slowly flexing their strange appendages. She felt the weight on her back shift as Spike leaned, and while she didn’t look, she could hear the wet sounds of him making contact with something in the shallow pool.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Twilight settled the dark blue headset over her ears, then pressed the button on the side. The aquarium audioguide burst with shrill static that quickly settled into soothing, generic violins. A wizened gentlestallion with a voice like a millstone began speaking into her ears. ”-eep sea is teeming with life, and contains more numerous and varied species than we see anywhere on land. Experts tell us that we have only explored between two and three percent of the vast oceans, and all of that comparatively near the surface.” She smiled to herself. Hopefully she could pick up some interesting aquatic facts to share at Pinkie’s next party.

There were small, greenish tanks being kept company by placards starting with DID YOU KNOW? There were schools of fish peeking out shyly from brightly colored coral, their hard black pebble eyes staring. They spent some time mesmerized beneath an arch of glass, filled with water that circulated gently, generously strewn with weightless jellyfish. ”Scientists have discovered over 1,500 species of jellyfish,” The voice suggested, ”but estimate there may be over 300,000 at depths below…” There was a hallway with a long tank, stretching into the distance, with waves generated at one end then rolling inexorably towards them.

Spike must have been loving this. She felt him sway with the wave as it rolled past them, mimicking the motion of the water. Fish lifted and settled together, holding perfect formation as the waves passed. “Many aquatic denizens possess senses we ponies can scarcely understand. Directional vibrations through water pressure. Electric and magnetic fields. Spectrums of radiation that might drive a pony mad if she could process it all...” But something about the force of the water, or how close they were in the narrow hallway, made her feel nervous. Shouldn’t there have been windows here, looking out onto the ocean? She thought there should have been.

SLOSH

Twilight jumped, feeling all of her muscles tense up. She’d done so much work in the past three years tamping down her anxiety, so why was she feeling a fight or flight response now? Her head pounded, worse than before. The headset didn’t block out all the ambient noise; she could still hear the sound of other ponies enjoying themselves. And… whispers, maybe? ”-starfish can grow itself back even after being sawed roughly in half, much like an earthworm-” She tried to steady her breathing, the way Cadance had taught her.

Then the smell of hay fries hit her nose, her stomach grumbled, and the anxiety passed. There had to be a cafeteria here, right? Twilight spoke over her shoulder. “Hey Champ, want to get some food while we see the sights?” She sighed as she followed her nose down the hall in front of her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

This was most definitely not a cafeteria. The domed room was huge and had several entrances. Through the glass of the walls and ceiling, slick shapes slid through the water, some spotted, some silvery, some as brightly colored as party favors. There were few ponies here, maybe because the lights were dim, but the comforting sound of a public place still intruded despite her headset. Maybe there was a class field trip one room over?

There were stone benches for observing the parade of marine life at a sedate pace, but they looked uncomfortable, so Twilight chose to stand. She paused to wonder where the light was even coming from. They must have been pretty far underwater, because afternoon sunlight should have been refracting through the surface somewhere. ”-uniquely adapted to life underwater. Look Careful at some of these rocks, and you may discover our resident octopus, who enjoys unrivaled powers of camouflage. Able to change the color, texture, and very chemical composition of its fundamental particl…”

A cluster of translucent shrimp darted through the water in a syncopated rhythm, bending their backs at an odd angle in little bursts of movement. They sprinkled like snow onto a clear patch of sand, until a sizable swath of sediment twitched and lifted, revealing a perturbed flat fish that drifted off into the distance.

The marine setting extended into shadow, giving the impression that they were sitting on the ocean floor. But this had to be a tank, of course, with the far walls painted to look like they went on and on. They hadn’t descended far enough to be well below sea level, had they? There had been stairs and a ramp, now that she was thinking about it. The throbbing deep in her skull made her wince. Twilight figured she could ask an employee. She was vaguely glancing around for a uniformed pony when movement tugged her attention to the glass right before her.

A monolithic eye drifted into view.

Twilight let out a high-pitched scream and recoiled, jumping backwards and lifting her wings in a warding gesture, shielding herself and Spike. The headset hissed alarming static that raised the hairs along her spine. Her pulse thumped loudly in her ears, which had flattened to her skull. A fish drifted by, flat and massive. Far larger than anything she expected to see here. Larger than she would have thought could be safely housed in an enclosed space, even one as big as this.

But nopony else had jumped. Nopony was even snickering at her reaction. Maybe they were just being polite. The violins were back, as placid as ever, accompanied by a lonely bassoon. But Spike still quivered on her back, probably as shocked as she had been. She tried to slow her breathing, but even knowing the mammoth fish was there, she couldn’t shake the subtle chill that had settled into her feathers at the sight of it.

“Let’s see if we can find the otters.” Twilight’s voice sounded high and tight. She settled her wings and turned, keeping one eye on the massive fish, several ponies high, still drifting lazily through the water, blotting out most of the other aquatic denizens like a slimy eclipse. With clipped strides, she took one of the tunnels and made her exit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

She couldn’t find the otters. The smell of the cafeteria had vanished, replaced by a faint smell of ammonia and salt and rot. It didn’t help that the signs were either confusing gibberish or non-existent. The voice in her ears was fading in and out, the violins becoming more hurried and urgent. She found a doorway that led to an upward-sloping ramp, but it ended in a staircase leading down. Why didn’t she grab a map from the entrance? Twilight turned away while hundreds of dead fish eyes followed her movements.

The ramp took her back down to the hallway, where she continued on, through a long curve to a hallway that sloped down. Spike had been silent for awhile, just perched between her shoulder blades. ”-when startled, the timid fish will instinctively Don’t in the same direction as its closest neighbor, creating a pattern we call schooling…” It was silly, but she thought she could feel the weight of a mile of water piled behind these walls. She was certain, once she found the exit, she would feel utterly foolish. Her friends would never let her live this down. Being spooked in a public place? Twilight could almost feel the embarrassment now.

To her right, the floor to ceiling glass revealed a cavernous tank that faded into silt the further she looked. She tried not to look. The coral she could see was vivid. Clashing colors that made her eyes hurt. The remains of half-eaten fish settled lazily along the bottom. She tried not to look. ”-owerfull jaws are slender enough to pull chunks of tender meat Eyes of the protective shell, bypassing the need for a brute force…” But there was nowhere else to look. As the wall of the tank loomed, she spotted a gaping hole, a pipe leading out of the enclosure. Just as she spotted it, something mottled and slick sucked itself into the hole and out of sight.

Whatever was supposed to be displayed here, Twilight was immensely relieved she didn’t see it.

There, ahead of her, was a brightly lit elevator! Finally, a clear way out of here. Twilight felt her breathing slow, and she was suddenly self-conscious about the sweat matting her coat. With a sigh of relief she stepped through the open doors, quickly pressing the highest button on the panel.

The doors slid closed, and with a lurch the elevator dropped, moving downwards at a brisk pace. Her stomach did a little flip, and she felt her gorge rise. “No.” she whimpered. “No no no no no no no.” Her balance wavered as she lifted a hoof and slammed it against the bright red emergency stop button. The button snapped off the wall as the entire carriage screeched to a halt, the sound clawing into her ears.

In the silence, Twilight’s legs shook. Her breathing was loud and ragged in her own ears. The red button rolled slowly, slowly, across the floor of the elevator, before coming to rest gently against her hoof. Her headache sliced through her brain and up her horn, beating in time with her racing heart. The doors slid open of their own accord.

The room ahead was dark and rectangular, a soft violet glow from somewhere just brushing the walls. The room was tilted at a slight angle, or maybe the elevator was, but it made her feel even more sick. The elevator was stuck now. Somehow she knew it, knew that it couldn’t take her back up. But she didn’t want to leave it. She didn’t want to step out there. She didn’t want to know.

The audioguide headset had clattered to the floor, nearly silent. She could still hear the sound of distant conversation, punctuated by the sound of foals. But it was tinny, grainy, worming its way out of the headset itself. It was a false sound. Had been from the start. The gentlestallion was laughing, the disbelieving laugh of one feeling their sanity slipping through their hooves.

Twilight reached for her magic. She was getting her and Spike out of there. But as her horn began to glow, she felt… nothing. Her magic was there, but there was nowhere to blink to. She couldn’t sense the outside. Just leagues of water. The world was wet and heavy and endless. She felt tears welling in her eyes as she squeezed them shut, willing the world to change, for this nightmare to end.

A loud voice rang out of the fallen headset, “TWILIIIIIGHT!” A scream of raw fear. “TWILIGHT DON’T CL-” The silence was louder than the sound had been. She twitched at the noise, kicking the emergency button into a corner. The broken back of it looked like a cartoon face, frowning. She shifted her weight forward, leaning just her head out of the corpse of the elevator. There was a large display window before her that curved gently, displaying darkness.

Twilight slowly stepped fully into the viewing room, her hoofsteps echoing back to her from every direction. The window had an information display to the left, the glare from it harsh in the violet ambiance. Twilight glanced at it. That was a mistake. The shapes or symbols on it were all bad very bad very bad don't look don’t look don’t look don't look don't look. The weight on Twilight’s back felt like it had doubled, and it pulsed and rocked slowly back and forth, as though it was content. Had Spike actually been with her? Did she pay for these tickets she couldn’t remember. What city was this?

There was nothing beyond the glass. Twilight was so grateful there was nothing beyond the glass. Whatever she was supposed to see here she didn’t want to see. Why was her back so damp? Whatever was clinging to her mane was digging into her scalp. Was that blood running down her back? It couldn’t be. Her headache was coming from the center of her brain. She couldn’t look behind her. So she blinked, feeling her balance waver, staring into the deep.

The darkness shifted.

Rippled.

Uncoiled.

Twilight squeezed her eyes shut.