//------------------------------//
// Late Night 
// Story: Shattered 
// by Zeck 
//------------------------------//

	Symphony groaned and rolled over in the bed. The motion only made her stomach grumble more and a rumble shot through her. She squeezed her eyes tighter, hoping to sleep through the discomfort, but it was too late. She was already awake and her stomach was telling her that it was not pleased with her earlier dining choices. 
“Ugh…I’m never eating cotton candy again,” the Earth pony mumbled. “Or…churros, or pizza, or…anything.” 
Symphony admitted that all the juke food, as Sea Swirl called it, had been rather tasty. And it had been the first time in a long time she had been able to actually eat her fill, thanks to the Unicorn offering to pay for everything, but all the sugar, grease, and Celestia knew what else went into those foods was now tearing her stomach apart. 
A burp escaped her mouth and her eyes shot open. She covered her mouth with her hoof and held her breath, praying that Sea Swirl hadn’t heard her.  The last thing she needed was for the Unicorn to grow disgusted with her.  She still needed Sea Swirl for her social connections if she wanted any hope of ascending in Canterlot. 
Symphony stayed perfectly still for a few seconds, cursing her moody stomach, as she strained her ears to listen. She even held her breath for a few moments, waiting to see if she could hear any sound from the Unicorn sleeping on the floor, but she heard nothing. No giggling, no disgusted huffs of air, and certainly no mumbling.
In fact, Symphony didn’t even hear breathing. 
The Earth pony sat up in her bed and blinked a few times to adjust her eyes. The room was rather dark, but there was enough moonlight pouring in through the open door for her to—
Wait. Why is the door open?
Symphony felt a chill run down her body despite the fact that she was buried in blankets. If somepony had snuck into their room, then they were in danger. She didn’t know the first thing about fighting, and Sea Swirl didn’t seem to be well trained in offensive magic. Still, between the two of them, the Unicorn was probably the better bet of repelling the intruder. 
It was certainly safer for Symphony too.
“Sea Swirl!” Symphony hissed under her breath. There was no answer. She tried again, a bit louder, but still she heard nothing. Frustrated, she reached behind her head, grabbed a pillow, and tossed it onto the floor where Sea Swirl was sleeping. “Wake up!” 
All Symphony heard was the muffled thump of the pillow hitting the floor.
Oh no. What if they already got her? What if they’re just waiting in the shadows to slit my throat? Symphony frowned at the thought. Well, if that was what they were planning, then she wasn’t going to make it easy for them. They might have killed Sea Swirl without a fuss, but she wasn’t going to die as easily. 
Symphony counted to two and then dove for the lamp by the side of the bed. She turned it on and tumbled off of the mattress at the same time. She had planned to roll away and come up with her back to the wall, ready to face whomever had broken into the room, but her plan failed. Her hooves got tangled in the sheets and she face-planted onto the plush carpet. Her head rung from a moment and her chin burned, but she quickly kicked her legs free and the rest of her body fell to the floor. She shook her head and stood up, all of her vigor gone now. She turned around, fully expecting to see some evil Unicorn smiling at her before he killed her, but all she saw was the room. 
The Earth pony relaxed a little, but then something strange caught her eye. The makeshift bed on the floor was empty. Had somepony come in and taken Sea Swirl? But if that was the case, why had they left Symphony alone?
“Because I’m worthless,” the Earth pony spat. “Especially compared to a pony like her…” Why would anypony bother taking her when they could take somepony like Sea Swirl? 
Only, that thought didn’t make any sense either. The bed on the floor—which honestly wasn’t really a bed, just a blanket and two pillows—did not look disturbed at all. Either the pony that had grabbed Sea Swirl had taken the time to make the bed perfect again, or Sea Swirl had willingly left. 
“Tch. She probably just wanted to get rid of me,” Symphony said as she gently kicked the Unicorn’s pillow. How dare Sea Swirl try to ditch her in the middle of the night! She knew Unicorns were rude, but this was a new low, even for them! 
Symphony stomped over to the opened back door, fully intent on slamming and locking it, but then a thought crossed her mind. If Sea Swirl had meant to ditch her, why had she left her bed out? And why had she gone out the back? Surely the faster way would have been to leave out the front.  Symphony supposed it could have been to avoid paying the room fee, but then she remembered that the Unicorn had paid for everything upfront. 
“Did she really just…go out for a walk?” Symphony looked out the backdoor. She opened it more and walked out onto the small patio. She immediately noticed how cool it was and her ears picked up a strange, dull roar. She froze, afraid that some beast was waiting in the shadows, but the roar was constant in tone and never seemed to break. She rolled her eyes as she realized she was hearing the sound of the ocean. She gazed out across the dark beach and spied what looked like liquid blackness in the distance. The moonlight danced across it, giving it an eerie appearance, as if the very fabric of reality was twisting apart. 
A chill ran down Symphony’s spine that had nothing to do with the cool ocean air as she stared into the distance. She spied a single orange light at the edge of murky blackness. She watched it flicker and dance in the dark and her mind realized that she was looking at a fire. She walked to the edge of the patio and looked down at the sand. As her eyes adjusted to the night, she was able to make out hoofprints. She didn’t see any signs of a struggle, so she guessed Sea Swirl really had just walked down to the beach in the middle of the night. 
“What a weird pony,” Symphony said as she again looked out at the fire. Whatever the Unicorn was doing, it clearly had nothing to do with her. If it had, Sea Swirl would have woken her up. She probably wanted to be left alone. 
Besides, after the way Symphony had acted when she had first seen the ocean, she wouldn’t be surprised if Sea Swirl wanted her nowhere near the water. 
Symphony made a face. “Well too bad for her. She can’t get rid of me that easily.” She stepped off of the patio and began to make her way down to the flickering light. She kept her eyes focused on the flame, because she knew that if she looked the liquid darkness of the ocean behind it, terror would seize her and she’d dash back to the room. 
Why am I doing this? Symphony kept asking herself that over and over as she walked. It became a mantra, allowing her to move her legs at a constant pace and switch off the parts of her mind that were slowly growing in panic the closer she got to the ocean. 
But try as she might, she found that she couldn’t actually answer the question. 
Suddenly, the Earth pony felt the soft touch of heat on her muzzle. She blinked, her mind snapping back to reality, and realized that she had reached the edge of the fire’s warmth. She looked around, but the light from the flames made it impossible for her to see in the night anymore. Sea Swirl could be sitting directly on the other side of the fire and she’d have no idea. 
“Sea Swirl?” Symphony called as she walked closer to the fire. She paused for a moment as she stepped fully into the light and let the comforting heat wash over her body. She looked back toward the motel and was surprised to see how far away it was. Had she really walked that far? 
A splash tore through the night and Symphony jumped. The noise had disrupted the constant loll of the ocean’s roar, and she was stunned to discover that she had actually grown accustomed to the sound. With her heart pounding, she stepped past the fire, careful not to get too close so her tail wouldn’t ignite, and strained her eyes against the darkness. 
As her eyes adjusted, she found that the sight was actually quite beautiful. The water wasn’t a pitch black, but a deep blue. The moonlight no longer looked like it was being torn apart on its surface, but instead swam along the waves, bouncing the light around the small cove. The water almost looked inviting, and the soft sloshing of the waves was a lullaby. 
The mare’s eyes grew heavy as she stared out at the water, her fear of it forgotten for the time being. Maybe she would take the Unicorn up on her swimming lessons after all. Looking at the water like this, it didn’t seem so bad. 
A dim light began to dance along the water. At first, Symphony paid it no mind, thinking it was just the moonlight again. But the light began to move against the waves, and it dashed about in ways that were impossible for a reflection. It was also growing brighter and bigger. 
Symphony’s growing appreciation for the ocean vanished in a heartbeat as she watched the light. Was this some sea monster? Had it eaten Sea Swirl? Could it walk on land? Symphony figured she could run fast enough to get back to the motel if she had to. She took a small step back as the light drew closer to the surface. 
The light burst from under the surface and Symphony dashed backward so fast that she tripped. She fell onto her back and immediately felt all the sand wiggle its way into her mane. The feeling made her skin crawl, and for a moment her mind was focused on how long it was going to take for her to wash it all out, but then she remembered the mysterious light. 
She scrambled to her hooves, ready to run for the motel with all her might, but she stopped when she saw the source of the light. 
“Hey, Symphony!” Sea Swirl’s head was bobbing in the water. Her horn was glowing with light and she had a smile on her face. “Um…what brings you out here?”
“What are you doing?” Symphony asked. Relief flooded her body, but she wasn’t quite sure why. She brushed it off as being happy that some ocean monster wasn’t about to eat her. 
“Oh, I was diving,” Sea Swirl replied, her head still bobbing in the water. She blew air out of her mouth in an attempt to get mane out of her eyes, but the effort was wasted. The soaking wet mane stubbornly stayed in place. 
“At this hour?” Symphony asked. She sat down on the shore, well away from the water, and stared at the Unicorn. She knew that Sea Swirl was odd, but this seemed to be pushing things. 
“Oh, well…” Sea Swirl’s hoof came up out of the water and she rubbed the back of her neck. “I…kind of meant to go diving today, but, well…” Symphony hoped the night and the fire behind her hid the shame on her face as she understood the implied remark. “So I just came down here after you went to sleep. I, uh, didn’t wake you, did I?”
“No,” Symphony replied shortly. Was Sea Swirl trying to make her feel terrible? Well, she wasn’t going to succeed. “Why is your horn glowing?”
“Hm?” Sea Swirl’s eyes looked up at her horn. “Oh. That’s so I can see underwater. It’s pretty dark without the sun. The moon helps a little, but I need to be able to see the gems and stones, not just swim around.”
“You’re…working?” Symphony asked.
“Yeah.” Sea Swirl raised a small satchel out of the water and held it up with her hooves. “Some of the rarest gems can only be found in the ocean. That’s the reason I came here this weekend.”
“So I was just an afterthought?” Symphony demanded. She narrowed her eyes as she glared at the Unicorn in the water. 
“No!” Sea Swirl said. “I mean, yes. I mean, I was planning on going to the ocean anyway, and I just thought you’d like to come too.” 
Symphony was about to speak again, but she froze. Something else was in the water with Sea Swirl. A lone fin had appeared behind her, and it was slowly making its way toward the Unicorn. 
Symphony opened her mouth, but the word refused to come.  It only sounded in her head. 
Shark!
“Symphony, you okay?” Sea Swirl asked, still floating in the water and completely unaware of the fin closing in behind her. 
Symphony jumped up and pointed with her hoof. “Behind you!” she managed to shout at the last second. 
“Huh?” Sea Swirl looked over her shoulder, but it was too late. The fin vanished beneath the water, and an instant later, Sea Swirl’s head disappeared as well. 
“SEA SWIRL!” Symphony rushed to the water’s edge. She felt it wash up against her hooves and her muscles cringed as the icy water ran up her legs. She went into the surf up to her knees, but there was nothing she could do. She couldn’t swim, and even if she could, she doubted she’d be able to save the Unicorn from the shark. Horrified, she stood in the freezing water, staring at the spot where the pony had been moments before. 
The water exploded and two forms sprang upward. Symphony screamed and back-peddled out of the surf, but she couldn’t pull her gaze away from the display. 
One of the forms was bent and looked like a grey crescent moon. It flipped in the air once and then plunged back into the water. 
The other form soared higher, and Symphony’s breath left her. It was Sea Swirl. She rose into the sky, her hind legs straight with her forelegs flared out to either side. She spun in the air like a top, scattering countless drops of water in every direction. Most of them vanished into the night, but a few of them caught either the moonlight or firelight and dazzled as bright as stars for a brief moment. 
Sea Swirl stopped spinning and flipped forward, plunging back toward the water in a dive. She slipped beneath the water with barely a sound or a splash, and once again fear seized Symphony’s heart, but it only lasted for a second. 
Almost immediately, Sea Swirl’s head appeared above the water again, this time much closer to shore. She began to move forward, a smile beaming on her face, until her hooves could touch the bottom and she walked out of the surf. 
Symphony simply stared at her, her mouth open. 
“What?” Sea Swirl asked as she walked up to Symphony. Water flowed off of her in rivers, and a part of Symphony suspected that she was probably freezing, but she didn’t seem to care. 
“What…what was…?” Symphony raised her hoof and pointed to finish her sentence. 
“That was Aqua, my friend.” Sea Swirl turned and made a strange clicking noise with her mouth. A second later, the satchel she had shown earlier came flying out of the water. The Unicorn caught it with her magic and levitated it over to the fire, and then turned back to the ocean. “Aqua, come say hi.” 
The strange clicking noise came from ocean this time, and a second later, a long nose poked out of the water, followed by the rest of a smooth, grey face. 
“A…dolphin?” Symphony asked. She stared at the creature’s face, and she could feel it staring back at her. There was intelligence in its eyes that Symphony knew a lot of ponies didn’t have. 
Aqua made the clicking noise again and a second later spit water into Symphony’s face. The mare gasped and shook her face, spitting salt water out of her mouth. 
“Hey!” 
“She likes you,” Sea Swirl said, trying not to laugh. “She’s hoping you’ll go play with her.”
Symphony glared at the dolphin. It seemed to be laughing at her with its strange clicks. “Tell her that I must decline.” 
“She knows,” Sea Swirl said with a smirk. 
“How?”
“She can tell you can’t swim.” Sea Swirl pointed to Symphony’s legs. “It’s in the way you tense up around water.” The Unicorn looked back to the dolphin that was still clicking away in the water. “Okay Aqua, it’s time to go home. I’m pretty sure it’s past your bedtime, and I’m getting sleepy.” 
Aqua let out a quick click and disappeared beneath the water. Her tail flipped up for a brief moment and waved, and then the sea creature was gone. 
“I did not know Aqua was…” Symphony started as she continued to stare at the water. 
“That she wasn’t a pony?” Sea Swirl asked. The Unicorn turned away from the ocean and walked back toward the fire. She sat down and gazed into the flames for a long time. “I…don’t really have many pony friends.”
Symphony stifled a sigh. This was going to turn into one of those bonding moments, wasn’t it? Sea Swirl was going to talk about how lonely her childhood was and basically spill her entire life story. And it was going to be Symphony’s job to sit there and listen to her. She didn’t really want to, but she decided she had to. If she wanted to get in good with Sea Swirl, she had no choice. 
Rolling her eyes, she walked over and sat down next to Sea Swirl. Not too close, but close enough to show that she was willing to listen. “Why not?” she asked, bracing herself for an on pour of emotion. 
To Symphony’s surprise, Sea Swirl chuckled. “Oh, I’m a bit of a free spirit, that’s all. I travel a lot between Canterlot and home, so it’s kind of hard for me to make lasting friends.” 
Symphony cocked her head to the side and blinked. “What do you mean?”
“I mean ponies don’t really get a chance to get to know me outside of work,” Sea Swirl said, answering the wrong implied question. “To be honest, you’ve stuck around longer than most ponies, but I don’t think that’s going to last.”
Symphony frowned with worry. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, I seem to keep making you miffed, despite my best efforts.”
“Miffed?”
“Angry,” Sea Swirl said, rubbing the back of her neck. She looked over at Symphony for a moment and smiled. “I’m pretty surprised you’ve stuck around this long.”
“Are you trying to get rid of me?” Symphony asked, her tone growing dark. She couldn’t let Sea Swirl just kick her to the curb like this. This Unicorn was her ticket out of the life she was living and into the high life of Canterlot. 
“No, but that’s what I mean,” Sea Swirl said, looking deeper into the fire. “It seems like every time I open my mouth, I make you angry. I mean, you thought I was hoping you’d sleep with me when we first met. How bad do I have to screw our first meeting for you to get that impression?” The pony laughed nervously. “And then, like an idiot, I took you to the ocean, despite knowing that you can’t swim and the traumatic experience you’d just been through. And then there’s the whole mess with the bed, which again makes it look like I want to sleep with you.”
“I…” Symphony stopped for a moment. What she was about to say was something that she found rather trying. “I…I know I can be…difficult sometimes.”
“No, that’s not—” Symphony shot Sea Swirl a look that could freeze Princess Celestia. “Okay, yeah, maybe a little. It does seem like you take everything in the worst possible way.”
“I…don’t mean to,” Symphony replied. “It is just…I…you know how Canterlot can be. A pony has to constantly watch her back.”
“Tell me about it,” Sea Swirl said with a laugh. “If I wasn’t so popular, or if another pony comes along that opens up a jewelry shop like mine, I’m pretty sure I’d be run out of town in a heartbeat. I can’t tell you the number of ponies I’ve managed to tick off in that town.”
“I am not one of them,” Symphony said, and she found that she actually meant it. 
“Glad to hear it,” Sea Swirl replied. She looked to the side and grabbed the satchel with her magic. She held it in front of them both and then turned it upside down, dumping its contents onto the sand. “Let’s see what we got.” 
Symphony’s eyes widened as dozens of precious gems and stones spilled in front of her. There were even a few pearls, though none of them were nearly as big as the one Sea Swirl had given her. Still, even this small amount was more than enough for Symphony to not only pay half a year’s rent, but she could probably even afford to move to a better apartment.
“Not a bad take,” Sea Swirl said as she spread the stones out with her hooves. She lifted a white pearl up with her magic and held it close to her eye. “This should fetch a nice price. I’ll have to…” The Unicorn stopped as she yawned. “Excuse me.” 
“How long have you been diving?” Symphony asked, trying to not stare squarely at the stones in front of her. 
“Years.” Sea Swirl put the pearl back on the sand and then laid back. “It pays the bills, that’s for sure, but it’s a bit lonely. It’s not like I have a diving team or anything.” Her tails swished in the sand, flicking some of it on Symphony. 
“Why not?” Symphony asked. With the amount of bits Sea Swirl was making, she could easily afford to hire some ponies to work for her.
“I use some special spells that aren’t exactly common, and I don’t really feel like teaching them to other Unicorns,” Sea Swirl said. “For instance, I bet right about now you’re hooves are starting to get cold, despite sitting next to the fire.”
Symphony blinked in surprised. Her hooves and legs were freezing actually. The water had been ice cold when she had rushed in, and yet Sea Swirl had been swimming in it like it was nothing. 
“That’s one of them,” the Unicorn continued. “I can change the temperature of the water around me. I can’t boil it or anything, but I can make it comfortable enough for me. I can also breathe underwater, and reduce the water resistance on my body if I need to. I used those spells when I pulled you out of the water.” 
Symphony’s eyes shifted away from the stones and to Sea Swirl for a moment. The Unicorn was still on her back, staring straight up at the night sky. She had a smile on her face and her lavender mane was clinging to her forehead. She looked perfectly peaceful, despite what she had just said. 
“I don’t like using them though,” she said as she closed her eyes. “I like to feel the water around me. I like the way it flows around me, embraces me, and whips through my fur. That, and they take a lot of magic.” The Unicorn let out another long yawn when she finished. 
“I see,” Symphony said. She wished she could use magic. Imagine all the instruments she could play if she could. A violin would just be the start. She would learn how to play a bass, the drums, a cello, anything. And she’d learn how to play them all at the same time. Then she wouldn’t be some no-name Earth pony in Canterlot. She would finally be able to take her rightful place in—
“Weee…”
Symphony made a face at the strange noise. What was it?
“Weee…”
“Sea Swirl?” The Earth pony looked down at the Unicorn. She had fallen asleep on the sand. The strange noise was her snoring. Unbelievable. What type of pony could fall asleep in the sand? Just sitting on it was making Symphony’s fur itch, but Sea Swirl had fallen asleep on it like it was a feather bed. 
Symphony continued to stare at the Unicorn for a long time, her mind wandering along no certain paths. Eventually she returned her gaze to the fire and she stared at its dancing flames, losing herself. She only came back to her senses when her eyes caught the glint of something in the sand. 
Her crystal blue eyes shot down to the glint and went wide. All of the stones that Sea Swirl had collected were still scattered around in front of her. They were there in the open, for the taking, and Sea Swirl was asleep. Surely the Unicorn wouldn’t notice, or more importantly, care if one or two of the stones were gone. 
Symphony reached out and scooped up the nearest pearl and held it up in front of her. She still had plenty of bits left over from the last pearl Sea Swirl had given her, but that money would eventually run out. 
“She is not short on bits, either,” Symphony said. She looked down at the sleeping pony next to her. She wouldn’t mind. In fact, if Symphony asked, the Unicorn would most likely give her the pearl. She was kind like that, sickeningly so it seemed. Yes, it wouldn’t be a problem at all. She had to only take it, and then…
Something in Symphony’s chest twisted as she watched the sleeping pony. 
But what if she does care? What if…what if she finds out that I took this, and she thinks I stole it? That would not be good. That would be terrible in fact. If Sea Swirl told her to get lost, she’d be back to square one, and she couldn’t risk that. The pearl might pay for a few things now, but it wasn’t worth risking Sea Swirl and her free ticket to better places. 
Symphony put the pearl in the satchel, and the moment she did, relief flooded her body. She thought that was strange. She shook the feeling away and began to gather up the rest of the stones. When she finished, she kicked sand onto the fire and smothered it, then stomped on it for good measure. The only light that remained was from Luna’s moon and stars, and it was rather breathtaking. She sat and stared up at them for a few minutes until she heard Sea Swirl stir behind her. 
Expecting to see the Unicorn waking up, Symphony looked down. But instead of waking, Sea Swirl had simply rolled over and curled up in a ball. She now had a content smile on her face as she slept away in the sand. 
Symphony rolled her eyes. She slung the satchel over her shoulder and then tapped Sea Swirl with her hoof. The Unicorn groaned, but she didn’t wake. Symphony tapped her again, harder, but still she remained asleep. 
“Fine,” Symphony groaned. She thought for a moment about leaving her, but decided against it. If she woke up and found that her entire satchel of gems was gone, Symphony knew that would look bad. So she bent down and carefully picked up the sleeping pony. She wiggled her way under her until she managed to get Sea Swirl draped across her back. She was heavy, but not nearly as heavy as the cart Symphony had pulled a few days ago. 
The Earth pony began to make her way through the sand and back up to the motel room. Sea Swirl simply stayed on her back the whole time, snoring quietly and occasionally rubbing her face against Symphony’s side. 
When they reached the room, Symphony navigated through the door, careful not to smack Sea Swirl’s head against the frame. Once they were inside, she stopped and at stared at the floor. Sea Swirl’s makeshift bed was still there, ready for her to slip in. All Symphony had to do was drop her there and she’d no doubt sleep the night away. After all, she hadn’t woken up this entire time.
Her eyes drifted back over to the bed. It really was big enough for two ponies, and Sea Swirl was already asleep, so there was no chance of her trying something. Besides, she seemed decent, especially for a Unicorn. Even if she did wake up, odds were she’d probably just carefully crawl out of bed and back onto the floor. 
Slowly, Symphony shucked Sea Swirl off of her back and into the bed. The Unicorn’s head tilted back onto the pillow and her mouth fell open. She groaned a little bit and shifted until she was comfortable and then went back to peaceful slumber. 
Symphony set the satchel down by the bed, closed the backdoor, and then crawled onto the other side of the bed. She took one of the spare pillows and placed it between her and Sea Swirl just to be safe—she didn’t want the Unicorn flopping over onto her side—and then turned out the light. 
This trip isn’t so bad, she thought as she drifted off to sleep.