//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Pony and the Sea // by Lotus Moon //------------------------------// The morning came and Blue Shell was up before the sunlight broke through his window. He paced around his room, and occasionally tapped his hoof on the floor, trying to figure out how he was going to get Sea Dancer from the sea to the Canterlot Palace. He thought of different magic spells that might work, but transporting a large amount of water would be difficult and there was no giant fishbowl lying around to put her in. “Leave it to me. I’ll be able to go.” Her words echoed in his head, but it still puzzled him as to how she’d be able to come on land to meet the princesses. Just then, there was a soft knock on his door. Blue stretched and went to the door and opened it only to be greeted by a ruby red unicorn mare with a red and black mane curtaining part of her face, a splash of blue decorating her nose, a blue and black tail, and large mesmerizing eyes. “Hello, can I help you?” He asked politely. “I suppose you wouldn’t be able to recognize me in this form since you’ve just met me in my other form and it’s the first time you’re seeing this one” The mare smiled. And upon hearing her voice, Blue’s eyes widened in amazement. “Sea Dancer? Is that really you? How did you turn into a pony?” He asked. “Well, I am a unicorn. I do know magic and I’m, of course, able to use it. But really, unbeknownst to your history books, mer-ponies are able to change into regular ponies to walk on land even if they aren’t unicorns. We just never do this often. And no one would even know we were different since we look like every pony else.” She smiled. Blue was shocked by this new discovery but was mostly still in awe at Dancer’s beauty. It’s as if nothing really changed, she just has four legs instead of two. ‘She’s gorgeous. I don’t think any other mare has really captivated me as much as she has. Dancer is just amazing…with an aura equal to the Princesses’ He thought and two claps from Dancer’s hooves snapped him out of his trance. “Oh! Um, I’m sorry for staring so much. I guess we should get going.” He chuckled nervously. “I just hope we’ll be able to get in and see the Princesses.” And with that, Blue packed the recently finished commission in his napsack, met Sea Dancer outside, and walked to the train station. ***** Arriving at the train station took about an hour since every pony stopped Blue to chat with him a little and ask about the mysteriously beautiful mare accompanying him. Some stallions did try to court her, to Blue’s slight jealousy, and Sea Dancer gracefully turned them down. When they finally arrived at the station, the train was a minute from arriving and it gave Blue a chance to buy them a little snack for the trip. Boarding the train was a new experience for Sea Dancer; well everything was a new experience since she had never been on a train before. Once they were on and the train pulled off, she was a little startled by how much it rocked as they walked, but soon adjusted since it was no different than swimming for her. Blue helped her to her seat, which she laid down on and he sat on the seat in across from her. “This train is loud and shakes a lot. Watching it and being on it is much different than I thought. But it’s nice.” She smiled, laying her head on her forearm and letting her mane lightly curtain her face. Her hind legs hung off the seat and moved in sync back and form as if she still had her tail. Soon she almost looked like she was asleep. Blue watched her and tilted his head curiously, not questioning it since it might be something comfortable for her. He simply smiled and watched the scenery go by. “You’re going to love Canterlot. It’s beautiful there, though sometimes the ponies there can be a little…too high class,” He said, remembering when he first arrived there. He had received an invitation to the palace to have an audience with the Princesses. After arriving in Canterlot, he was a little lost and trying to get some directions to the palace from any pony that passed by. He, unfortunately, had an encounter with a pretty stuck up couple who said a “common pony like him has no place in high society”. It took him a while to learn to ignore comments like that. “But with how beautiful you are, I doubt any pony will be like that towards you.” “Ponies like that exist? I really was asleep for a long time. When I was a sea-filly, I would practice my magic and saw ponies and other creatures existed in harmony together” She said and sat up on her front legs. “That must have been before the war. I don’t know all the details about it, but I bet Princess Twilight Sparkle does. She’s very interested in reading anything she can get her hooves on, especially if it pertains to magic. She used to be Princess Celestia’s pupil. She and her friends are quite amazing. They’ve saved Equestria many times with the magic of their friendship and the six Elements of Harmony.” “Elements of Harmony? What’s that?” “According to what I’ve been told during my chats with Princess Celestia, she and her sister, Princess Luna, once used to be the bearers of the Elements of Harmony and used them to turn Discord to stone. But after some time, Princess Celestia had to use them to banish her sister, who had turned into an evil mare called Nightmare Moon, into the moon for 1,000 years. When Nightmare Moon returned, Princess Twilight and her friends: Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity used the Elements to defeat Nightmare Moon and change her back to Princess Luna. I guess with their personalities, they were the new bearers of the Elements.” Blue explained. “That’s quite amazing. But what are the six Elements of Harmony? You keep mentioning them.” She asked. “The Elements of Harmony are Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, Loyalty, Kindness, and Magic. I did mention before that Fluttershy is the Element of Kindness. Pinkie Pie represents Laughter, Rarity represents Generosity, Applejack represents Honesty, Rainbow Dash represents Loyalty, and Princess Twilight represents Magic. Princess Celestia said when she and Princess Luna used the Elements they were stones. But in the capable hooves of Princess Twilight and her friends, they became pendants and a tiara that matched their cutie marks.” Blue said and pointed to SeaDa’s tri-bubble cutie mark. She looked at it. “Oh, so that’s what those are. I often wondered when I saw them in use. But this Princess Twilight, she wasn’t always a Princess, correct?” “No, she was a normal unicorn once and, as I said, Princess Celestia’s pupil. She became a Princess about a year ago now. She’s the Princess of Friendship and her castle is located in Ponyville. It’s large and beautifully made out of crystal.” He said as they pulled into the Manehatten station. He offered her a snack, which she accepted. The train continued on until they reached Canterlot station. They stepped off the train and the sights dazzled Dancer. Canterlot was different than she imagined. As they walked through, many stallions did approach Dancer because of her sheer beauty and store clerks approached her. In fact, she seemed to fit right in with the posh, elegant ponies of Canterlot. Even when passing by Rarity in her store, Dancer was approached and practically rushed in to try out the fashionista pony’s latest design, an elegant satin dress with light gold trim. Rarity almost fainted from how perfect Dancer looked in the dress. “Blue Shell, darling, who is this fabulous mare accompanying you? She’s an absolutely perfect model for my Canterlot Boutique spring line! Do you think she would be interested in the job?” Rarity asked, obviously very excited. “Model? Job?” Sea Dancer tilted her head questioningly. “Rarity, this is Sea Dancer. She’s…um…new to Canterlot. I’m sure she might be interested in the job. But you should ask her, not me. But…can it wait? We have to meet with the Princesses.” Blue said politely. “Oh my, wouldn’t want to keep you from that. Uh Sassy Saddles, be a dear and set this outfit in the reserved bin for this charming pony.” Rarity said and Sassy escorted Dancer to the changing room to help her. “Blue, where ever did you find such a charming companion?” Rarity asked. “For now, that’s a secret. But she is perfect, isn’t she?” He smiled, his smile getting brighter when Dancer returned to his side. “Anyway, we better be on our way.”