Chapter Five: The Sea King
The next day came as it always does and they all awoke from their sleep.
“Sebastian my friend, I do not know what to call the sea mare that I saw yesterday, so I shall call her Venus. For she is exactly like my Aphrodite, perfect in every way no matter how small."
“Sir, not to be rude, but don’t you think you’re just a little bit over obsessed with her?” Sebastian said.
How can one such as I ever be obsessed with a beauty such as her?”
“Alright, fine then sir, I think that you are now officially insane.”
"Perhaps I am, but maybe I am not. Who can ever say for sure?"
“Sir, if I have to deal with this behavior then I just might leave your service and work, but I shall abide until the sea king comes here.”
“Very well then, until that time I shall wait and write poetry for my love.”
“I don’t think she’s your love just yet, sir.”
“Well alright, fine then, very well, just go and leave me in peace... please.”
And so Sebastian left him alone while he composed in his head songs and poem until he saw that the sun was setting.
He got up and went down to the beach to greet the sea king.
“Hello there, good sir, what’s your name?”
The sea king looked up at Forrest and said, "My name is not important, but if you must know it is Triton. Any and all royal titles shall be left for you to use if you choose to use them.
“That is a very long, complicated answer for such a simple question.”
It is not my goal to ever make it simple for anyone. But tell me, where is your castle?" Triton said while taking a long look at the surrounding landscape.
"It is near here, and I already have a grand, elegant meal planned out for you," Forrest replied.
"I am not hungry at the moment, but you offer is most graciously accepted. Please, take me to your castle."
"Yes sir, as you wish."
And so it was that Forrest and Triton set off for the castle.
When they got there they went into the dining hall and sat down at the head table.
“I see that you have not lied, for it is indeed grand and elegant," Triton said.
“Yes, I had hoped that you would think of it as so. But please, tell me, why did you come to meet with me?”
"I wish to speak with you about very important matters, some concerning your parents, others concerning the future of out citizens." Triton said as he sat down on the traditional seat for guests of great honor, no matter their status.
"I see. Please, speak of that which you came here to say," Forrest said.
You see, your parents were very close friends of mine, as were their parents, and theirs... all the way to the first king himself have we been close friends. Because of this, we have never bothered each other except for the occasional trade, celebration, and sometimes, death.
I have always kept our relationship very close for many years, and peace has always been maintained between our two kingdoms because of this. But, if the secret of my citizens were to get out to the world, I fear greatly of what they would do to us. They might try and use us for their own wants, they might even try to kill or study us like experiments.
It is in this regard for the safety of my citizens that I request you keep the secrecy of my people. If you will do this, we will have a portion of our wealth be delivered to you every time we collect the taxes. Would this arrangement be acceptable?"
“My dear king, while your offer of wealth that is beyond even my own imagination is a very tempting one, I'm afraid I must decline…”
“Are you saying that you would make war with us instead? Because if you are, then I must warn you... nothing will stop us from destroying you and your citizens completely until not even two stones stood here.”
"My dearest king, I am suggesting nothing of the sort! Now, please let me finish. I will accept your offer if instead of riches you will give me one thing." Forrest said.
"And what exactly would that one thing be?" Triton said raising an eyebrow.
"I would humbly request your daughter's hoof in marriage."
At this, Triton laughed and said, "You would request my daughter's hand instead of gold? Well, I can't say I blame you for thinking this way, but I cannot allow you to marry her until you have proven yourself worthy to me. Only then may you try to win my daughter's heart. But be warned, this is no easy task. For I would require you to do three hard, specific things.
Things many others before you have failed. But if you still with to try your luck then I won't stop you. However, before I tell you what you must do, I must remark that you are like you forefathers in many ways. They have all wanted marriage to a seapony, and they all had to do three hard things to be deemed worthy enough.
Now please, give me a moment to think of something new for you since your ancestors have already done so very many things," Triton said putting a hoof to his chin in deep thought. He was silent for a long time until he said, "Yes, that will work. These are your tasks in the order that you must do them. First, you must take a flower from the garden of Aluviar, then you must bring me an ice diamond, and finally, you must give me the Rose of Death."
"You want me to go into a cyclops' garden, then bring you an ice diamond from the lands to the north, and then give you the Mortimus flower, correct?" he said.
"Yes, that is correct," Triton confirmed.
"One question before I begin, though. Is there any sort of a time limit on when I bring these to you?" Forrest said.
"No, not really. Just don't die, ok?"
"Alright, I can do that," Forrest said smiling at Triton.
“Very good then, I look forward to hearing about how your adventure goes.”
As the sea king was standing up to leave, he looked at Forrest and said, "I look forward to hearing how the adventures go. But, in the meantime, I wish you good luck."
As Forrest watched the sea king disappear into the ocean, he said to himself, "For you, Venus, I will do anything. You are my Aphrodite and I wish that I could say so right now with all my words, thoughts, songs, and poetry. But no. First I must prove myself worthy of your love, and then I shall return to be with you again."
"Please sir, I grow tired of you being in love," Sebastian said.
"Sebastian, my friend, will you come along with me on this adventure even though the road ahead might be filled with peril?"
"Yes sir, but only because you are my friend," He replied, letting a slight smile creep onto his face.
"Thank you, Sebastian, you've always stood by my side when I've needed you the most. I just wish there were some way to repay you.
"Being with you makes me happy, and that's payment enough."
"And the check I give you at the end of the month, of course," Forrest teased.
"Yes, that too. But enough talk, let us begin this epic adventure that the poets will surely write about in the future.
"Don't forget all the other adjectives like awesome, amazing, perhaps even radical."
"Please sir, let's just get going."
First on their list was the flower from the lands of Aluviar, which, and everypony knows, is infested with all kinds of creatures, though mostly cyclopes.
Cyclopes, of course, were very big and dangerous, but Forrest had no fear...
He challenged them to games of strength but he always managed to always trick two of them to play the game for him, he also used games of the mind, and soon enough he had a flower in no time at all.
“Very good,” Triton said upon his return.
“You have proven yourself to be one third ready and worthy, but two tasks still lie ahead of you yet,” he said.
Next, he went to the frozen countries of the north, where he met Winter Frost and managed to gain a diamond by courting her and nearly breaking her heart as he left.
"Excellent, you have brought me two of the three objects. But I fear the third and final task is impossible. Please, give up your foolish quest before you die trying to attain this stupid goal. You don't need my daughter's love to be happy, surely there is another mare..."
“Sir, there are none other like her elsewhere in the entire world. There never was and there never will be, not even until the very end of time itself.”
“Very well then, you may continue on your stupid quest as you wish.”
And so he left to complete the third task. As he found out, the sea king was right, the Flower of Death was the hardest as he had to travel to Tartarus itself. There, he had to seek an audience with Anubis, the keeper of the gates. Then, go talk to Nyx, the goddess of darkness, death, and blood. Next came Hades, but both him and Nyx were the wrong version of death that Forrest wanted.
Finally, Mortimer came to meet him, for Mortimer was the pony of death. "What do you want from me?" Mortimer asked.
"I would like a Flower of Death of course," Forrest replied.
"You are brave and stupid to come here, and because I'm feeling generous today, though partly because I'm impressed you made it this far, let me give you this advice: keep trying to do the impossible, but never lie. Never say you can do something if you cannot truly do it."
"Alright, fine then, but might I ask why?"
"Because one day you might die trying to do just that."
"I see. Any more advice for me before I leave?"
“Yes, someday you’ll meet the sirens, wear wax then. And always keep your friend close by, he might just save your life one day,” Mortimus said with a smile as he handed him a flower. “Here is your flower, now go, leave my realm and never return unless you wish to die permanently.”
"Congratulations on doing the impossible. And now, it seems like you are ready to begin courting my daughter. And if she should choose to love you, then you will have my full permission to marry her. But this is only if she accepts your proposal, for my daughter's happiness is one of the few things left that I truly care for. Now go, and may you have the best of luck," Triton said upon his return home.
"Thank you, Triton," Forrest said to the sea king as he left and his daughter came up from the sea to greet him. "Hello there," Forrest said to her, "I have now received permission to try and win your heart now, but I will never be able to do so without first knowing your name. So I ask, fair lady, what is thy name?"
"My name is Lily," She replied.
“Ah yes, of course, because what is more serene, peaceful, and beautiful than a water lily on a pond of water? What is more incredible and amazing, what is more wonderful than that which my words cannot fully ever possibly describe? Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou are more lovely and more temperate. Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May. And summer’s lease hath all too short a date. Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines. And often his gold complexion dimmed, and every fair from fair sometimes declines. By chance or nature’s changing course untrimmed. But thy eternal summer shall not fade. Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st; nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade. When in eternal lines to time thou gow’st. So long as ponies can breathe, or eyes can see. So long lives this, and this gives life to thee,” he said.
“What was that?” she said trying not to cry.
“Poetry,” he said, “Although not my own, but I do have some that is my own and I will speak them only if you wish to hear it.”\
“In time, I think that I would like that very much. But first, is there any more that you can recite for me?
“Who would you like to hear first?”
“Whoever you think will be the best for me to hear.”
"Very well, I believe one by William Hoofsphere will suffice."
“It lies not within out power to love or hate, for will in us is overruled by fate… We wish that one should lose, the other win… Where both deliberate, the love is slight. Who ever loved that loved not at first sight?” he said.
“Those who live the most do not talk of their love,” he said. “Oh, my love’s like a red, red rose, that’s newly sprung in June; Oh, my love’s like the melody that’s sweetly played in tune.
As fair thou art, my bonnie lass, so deep in love am I; And I will love thee still, my dear. Till all the seas run dry. Till all the seas run dry, my dear, and the rocks melt with the sun: Oh, I will love thee still, my dear, while the sands of life shall run.”
He coughed and then continued onwards. “Take all my loves, my love, yea, take them all; What hast thou then more than thou had before?”
He coughed again and then continued onwards. “If my love for you was any greater, the trees would line up in poetic forms...awe you in sonnets written......part...to allow winds to cool your face... to trace it with natures hand. all the oxygen that covers all the waters rise, supercharge the breath of my emotion. Mountains would melt, shed their peaks like tears of joy. Even the arid deserts serve up fruits, their prickly pears peeled on a platter. Sunset would pause and sunrise hurry......exist in a paradox to herald your presence. Petals would climb their stems regroup to bloom again. Butterflies re-cocoon emerge as glorious fairies for all children to adore. The skies would willingly shape, etch, paint, frame my exuberance. The planet would swell, the galaxies expand.in the endless depth of my singular love I hold you dear, safely contain you in my admiring smile, for now, forevermore,” he said. “I think that’s all that I really have for you right now,” he said.
“Well, that was enough, it was very lovely, wonderful, and incredible. You should read your poetry aloud more often, you know.”
“I will, but only if you come out of the sea," he said..
She looked nervous at the thought about this. “No,” She said. “The sea is my home, I live in the water, the ocean bothers me not, fish are my friends, and you won’t ever convince me that the land could possibly be greater than the sea.”
“Well, I’ll try to do my very best before the end ever comes close to that.”
“If you try then you most certainly will fail in the end.”
“Well, you and I, we can’t be too sure of that fact, now can we?”
“No, but I don’t see how you can convince me of anything.”
“Just wait and see, I will soon enough, my dear. But until the next time that we meet, I wish to say good luck and that I love you.”
“And good luck to you, too, Forrest,” She said with a smile right before disappearing into the sea.
Later on, Sebastian had to drag his friend back to the castle. And except for that one moment on the beach, everything was absolutely perfect.