Beneath The Depths : Part 2
Cadence’s instincts told her to keep struggling but the seaweed made things rather difficult. The seaweed itself was very strong. It had to be. The merponies were using it to drag her along. To Cadence’s surprise, they seemed to be heading in the direction she had intending to go. There was no point trying to get away until they strayed off her path, Cadence decided, not that she at all liked the idea of being taken to that kelpie. It was just typical that the kelpie in this lake was an evil one rather than a good one.
There was a clearing up ahead, and Cadence could see what looked like a sunken ship a small distance from it. How the ship had got there was beyond Cadence. There were a few dead things floating about. Cadence suddenly caught sight of somepony who was tied to a piece of driftwood which had been placed vertically, like a stake in the ground.
Oceania! Cadence began to struggle again. The kelpie was encircling Oceania, dangerously close to her. The sweat running down Oceania’s neck flecked off into the rest of the water. A lot of the skin on the kelpie’s face seemed to have peeled off; the skin below the eyes was scared and cracked looking. His tail was very long and more reminiscent of a dragon’s than a pony’s; his mane was long and reminded Cadence of seaweed. His hooves were slightly webbed, his coat was a pale shade of silver and his teeth were rather reminiscent of those of a crocodile.
‘Leave me alone, you big bully!’ Oceania was stammering.
‘Not such a tough princess now are you?’ the kelpie said with a smile, moving a hoof towards her.
‘Don’t touch me!’ Oceania gasped breathlessly.
The kelpie gave a chuckle. Cadence wanted to help Oceania so badly that it hurt. She really wished she could speak too, so she could tell that kelpie to leave Oceania alone. The two merponies hadn’t seemed to have noticed Oceania at all. As they approached, the kelpie turned his head and Cadence realized how big he actually was. He was at least as tall as a fully grown immortal alicorn.
Oceania turned her head and gasped in horror on seeing Cadence but her main gaze was for the merpony stallion. A tear ran down Oceania’s cheek.
‘Seaspray,’ Oceania murmured in shock, ‘how could you?’
Seaspray was about to say something when his mouth went dry (well, dry as it could underwater). He had seen Oceania.
‘What’s she doing here,’ Seaspray said stiffly.
Cadence could tell he was tempted to let go of her and rush to Oceania’s side.
‘You’ve tied her up . . .’ Seaspray continued weakly, ‘and . . . and she’s hurt! You promised me she wouldn’t get hurt!’
He was clearly very upset.
‘Never mind about her,’ the kelpie said dismissively, ‘you’ve brought me a land foal. Still alive. So what I was told was true.’
He paused for a moment. He turned his gaze towards the female merpony.
‘Allow her to speak, Waterfire. I want to know what she has to say.’
Cadence could feel something feel something happening inside her throat.
‘Let Oceania go!’ Cadence shouted, ‘she’s done nothing wrong!’
‘She’s done all she can to prevent me from taking over the whole lake,’ the kelpie explained with a snarl, ‘I need more foals to eat. She’s preventing me from taking seaponies and from getting to the only access point there is to land. She deserves all the pain. Luckily for me, she, like you, is still young enough to make a tasty meal.’
‘You can’t do that!’ Cadence exclaimed.
‘You know, it’s so obvious that I can that I’m not going to bother responding to your comment,’ the kelpie replied in a slightly bored tone, ‘but since you seem so fond of Oceania, I’ll give you a chance to rescue her. If you reach her in forty seconds, you can both leave alive, oh, and you can have those souls you came for. If you fail, I’ll eat you both. Seem fair?’
Cadence knew it was anything but fair. It was almost impossible and Cadence knew it, but what choice did she have?
‘Alright,’ Cadence murmured.
Oceania was horrified.
‘You’ll never make it!’ Oceania cried.
Cadence tried to ignore this comment. The kelpie swam back a couple of yards.
‘Release her,’ the kelpie told the two merponies.
Cadence caught Seaspray’s eye for a moment.
The kelpie dived at her. Cadence was caught off guard and only just managed to dodge. She had expected him to tell her to start. She was losing precious seconds. Cadence dashed towards Oceania but the kelpie kept getting in her way and it was very difficult when she mustn’t, under any circumstances, let him touch her. She had ten seconds left now! She took a risk and dived between the kelpie’s legs. She had almost reached Oceania when the kelpie blocked her way with a foreleg.
‘Time’s up, land foal,’ the kelpie sneered, a vile grin on his face.
Oceania was suddenly free. The kelpie turned his head to see Seaspray glaring at him and holding one of Oceania’s hooves.
‘You’re going to be sorry,’ Seaspray said sternly, ‘you lied and broke all your promises. I don’t know why I didn’t see it before.’
‘You’re the one who’s going to be sorry, you foal!’ the kelpie snarled, ‘I’ll make you pay!’
Waterfire hurried over to defend her brother.
‘Swim!’ Waterfire shouted.
They swam for it, Oceania grabbing Cadence in one of her forelegs.
‘I’ll slow you down!’ Cadence protested.
‘There’s no way you could swim fast enough,’ Oceania replied, ‘I’m not allowing you to get eaten.’
‘What are we going to do?’ Waterfire asked desperately.
‘We can’t keep up this speed for long,’ added an anxious Seaspray.
Cadence looked down at the lakebed as she tried to think. That was it!
‘We’ll have to tie him up,’ Cadence whispered, ‘like you two tied me up, using seaweed.’
‘That would be so risky though,’ Seaspray responded.
‘But it’s probably the only thing we can do,’ Oceania told him.
‘She’s right,’ Waterfire said solemnly.
They quickly grabbed as much seaweed in their mouths as they could manage and Cadence tied the bits together, using magic, as fast as she could. They had to work fast. The kelpie would be there any moment. Four loops. That was enough. As the kelpie approached, they tripped him with the first one, then tied him up with it, taking care to avoid touching him. As he struggled, they tied him up with the other seaweed loops. They were almost done when the kelpie, in one last attempt, flung himself at Oceania. She screamed. She was suddenly across the lakebed, out of harm’s way. Seaspray had noticed what was going on a few vital seconds earlier and had pushed Oceania out the way.
‘No!’ Oceania yelled, hurrying back.
Seaspray was stuck to the kelpie.
‘You’re going to be okay big brother,’ Waterfire said in obvious shock, but trying to sound reassuring.
‘I’m just glad it wasn’t Oceania,’ Seaspray murmured, trying his best not to sound as frightened as he was, ‘what use is a traitor like me anyway?’
‘You’re not a traitor,’ Oceania cried, tears flooding down her face, ‘but oh Seaspray, why did you do? Why work for him?
‘Because,’ Seaspray mumbled, ‘he said it was all a big misunderstanding and that if he had his way, relationships between seaponies and merponies would no longer be disapproved of. I guess I was rather blinded by what he said after that.’
Oceania wept harder. She knew that Seaspray was a good as dead. Even if they killed the kelpie to prevent Seaspray from being eaten, he would never be able to move again being still attached. He would either die of disease from being attacked to a dead corpse or die of hunger. Even if they managed to get through all that, which Oceania was willing to try, he would spend the rest of his life suffering. It might even be better if Seaspray did die now rather than prolong his pain.
Oceania wept still harder and leaned down to touch his face with hers.
‘Oceania, no,’ Seaspray protested, ‘you could get stuck too!’
Oceania ignored his protests and as she did so, her tears fell on the kelpie’s sticky skin which had attached itself to Seaspray. Seaspray suddenly found that he was able to move. He was free.
‘How is this possible!’ cried a tearful Oceania.
‘It must’ve been the tears,’ Cadence told her, ‘perhaps it was the acid that was in them.’
‘Oh, Seaspray!’ Oceania wept, ‘I’m so glad you’re okay! I’m so sorry!’
After a few moments, Oceania turned to Cadence.
‘You see that ship, Cadence,’ Oceania said, while trying to rid her face of her tears, ‘there a door in it. Press your hoof against it and it will open.’
Cadence had almost completely forgotten about her mother’s soul.
‘But . . .’ Cadence began to protest.
‘We can manage the kelpie,’ Waterfire told her.
The other two nodded. Cadence hurried towards the ship and quickly found the door. As she placed her hoof on the door, it opened. The Empress must have assumed so little security was needed as no pony living on land would make it down here. Her kind must be able to breathe underwater. Cadence hesitated for a moment, then swam through.
‘She’s here, Pulchra,’ came a voice that Cadence recognized, but it wasn’t her mother’s.
‘True Star?’ Cadence asked, finding it hard to take in.
‘Hey Cadence,’ True Star responded, ‘would you mind getting me out too? It’s not exactly a party down here.’
‘How did you get down here?’ Cadence exclaimed.
‘Raven Mocker’s idea of a joke,’ True Star replied with a smile, or, at least, Cadence thought it was a smile.
It was hard to make out. The souls were definitely True Star and Cadence’s mother but they were so fuzzy it was hard to make them out. Cadence now understood that when she had asked Arachne and Lamia about souls that they had thought Cadence was referring to True Star’s soul. They probably had no idea about Cadence’s mother’s soul.
Unknown to Cadence, Pulchra and True Star had been unable to see their surroundings before Cadence’s arrival but now could, and could see each other completely clearly. Cadence was trying to think where se was supposed to touch the balls and chains. Pulchra sighed and looked resolved.
‘You’re not intending to . . ?’ True Star began.
‘I don’t have much choice really,’ Pulchra replied.
‘But you can be at peace!’ True Star objected.
‘She needs extra protection,’ Pulchra told her, ‘I must.’
True Star was silent for a moment.
‘I’ll do it,’ True Star said.
‘What?’ Pulchra asked.
‘I said I’ll do it,’ True Star responded, ‘look, you can be at peace, but I can’t. I have an unfulfilled destiny remember. It’s either that, or going to some limbo like place.’
Pulchra stared.
‘Look,’ True Star went on, ‘I didn’t mention this before but I know one her enemies very well. I’m more qualified for it than you are in a way.’
Pulchra nodded. Cadence hadn’t been listening. She had been concentrating. Pressing her hoof to True Star’s ball and chain, and holding down for ten seconds had unlocked it.
‘I’ll have you free in a moment, Mom,’ Cadence told Pulchra.
‘It shouldn’t be this way,’ Pulchra sighed, ‘I should be protecting and rescuing you, not the other way round.’
Pulchra and True Star exchanged a meaningful glance and True Star nodded.
‘You did your best, Mom,’ Cadence replied, ‘no-pony could ask more than that.’
‘But my best wasn’t good enough,’ Pulchra responded sorrowfully.
‘You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself,’ True Star commented.
The moment the ball and chain was off Pulchra, everything seemed to speed up. True Star and Pulchra each took one of Cadence’s forelegs. Cadence felt herself going partly through them, but they still managed to hold her. They moved at such a rapid speed that Cadence was by the edge of the lake within a few seconds. When Cadence got up and looked around, True Star and Pulchra were gone.
*
‘Late for dinner again I see,’ Celestia commented with a sigh, ‘what was it this time?’
Cadence struggled through the door rather breathlessly.
‘You’re soaking wet,’ Celestia exclaimed, ‘what have you been up to?’
‘I,’ Cadence began slowly and hesitantly, ‘I went for a swim.’
*
‘Hello Cadie,’ Dusk said, ‘how are you? Anything on your mind?’
It was the first time Cadence had called her grandpa since that time she was down those mines.
‘There is something actually,’ Cadence replied, ‘Aquila told me that you told her that True Star was at peace, but she wasn’t. Her soul was trapped in a lake.’
‘Ah,’ Dusk responded guiltily, ‘yes, well, you see . . . Wait, did you find her?’
Cadence nodded.
‘She’s free now,’ Cadence told him.
‘You wouldn’t believe how long I’ve been searching for her!’ Dusk exclaimed.
‘But why did you tell Aquila . . ?’ Cadence began.
‘Ah, yes, that. She asked me to check True Star’s condition while we were at True Star’s funeral,’ Dusk explained, ‘Aquila was already distraught and I didn’t have the heart to tell her the truth. I thought I’d tell her the truth once I’d found and freed True Star, but, of course, I never found her.’
Cadence nodded. That made sense.