Taunton Bay, Hancock County
September was one of those months beloved by Maine-dwellers, especially those on the coastal areas like the citizens of Canterlot. The city itself, nestled deep within woodlands wasn’t that far from Mt. Desert Island and so it really wasn’t that far of a drive from the city itself to the coastlines. Certainly not that far of a drive if you had access to the Groundbridge.
So, there the girls were, packed for a day at the beach along some lonely coastline in 70 or something degree weather. All in all, seemed like another normal day, the kind they’d been slowly getting used to before the Autobots and Decepticons came along. It was a fortunate week as well timing wise, as the teachers had given the students of CHS and Crystal Prep a week off from school, while they prepared their new lessons.
“Ahh, peace and quiet!” Trixie smiled as she adjusted her sunglasses, soaking up the sun’s rays while under a small umbrella. “Exactly what both the doctor, and Trixie herself ordered.”
Turning herself so that she was resting on her towel, back fully exposed to the sun, she turned the dial on a nearby radio station.
“Okay, okay! This is your favorite paranoid UFOlogist and government conspiracy nut, Xiraia coming at you live from my little station in Canterlot!” the constantly cheerful -If not a little nuts- African-American exclaimed. “Now, Maine. It has it’s share of legends right? Anyone hear of the Monster of Pocomoonshine Lake? Yes yes, a funny name I know, nowhere near as dignified as Nessie or the Ogopogo but we have an actual, live sea serpent swimming about! 30 feet long or so, big guy old Poco. Odd thing, we’ve been getting sightings from what I hear around the coasts of some snake-like creature some odd years back, and they just started up again recently. Now, I know Poco’s supposed to slither onto land occasionally -Because really, who’d want to stay in some cold lake?- but the coasts? Pretty far removed from Pocomoonshinelake. Maybe the sighters are all drinking some ‘Shine themselves. Yes, even I have my doubts about this one.”
“Why do you insist on listening to that rot?” Twilight had to ask, sitting down next to Trixie. Unlike her girlfriend, she was much more conserved in her attire and was dressed in a simple one-piece.
“Hey, it’s interesting stuff!” Trixie exclaimed, holding up a bottle of suntan lotion. “Here, slather some of this on Trixie’s back eh?”
Blushingly, Twilight did so as Trixie continued. “Besides, Xiraia’s been right before has’t she?” the stage magician remarked.
“Yes, about aliens. Lake monsters, another thing entirely.” Twilight deadpanned. She was really hoping her red face wouldn’t show to either Trixie or her friends. She’d never hear the end of it.
“Ya never know…” Trixie trailed off. “Besides, between you and me? I find cryptids absolutely fascinating stuff. Sure, might not be real, might be but they’re fun to think about and speculate over a cup of Sahlab no?”
Twilight did often forget Trixie’s parents did have an Egyptian heritage at least on her mother’s side, wasn’t something her girlfriend brought up often.
“I suppose, bit of an escape from reality. Like Dungeons and Dragons really.” Twilight shrugged.
“Please, keep your nerdy board games to yourself, Twilight Sparkle!” Trixie teased lightly, booping her on the nose making Twilight’s face scrunch up all cutely.
“Okay, I will, Lulamoon, the Ranger of Elvenwood!” Twilight teased, getting some of her own back.
“Et tu Twilight, et tu…” Trixie sighed. “Oh, she is so totally whipped is she not?” she continued, faking despair.
“Yes, yes you are…” Twilight smirked, keen on letting her know it.
“Hey Trixie, Twilight!” a familiar voice called, as Indigo rushed by alongside Sour. “Sure you’re not interested in going for a dive? Let me tell you, best way to lose yourself for a bit, open water.”
“No thanks, I’ve seen Jaws and I know what happens to swimmers and divers!” Trixie called back to them, the two carrying surfboards in their hands, Indigo wearing an athletic wetsuit with short sleeved arms and legs and Sour dressed in a cherry-toned one-piece that filled her figure out nicely.
“...You watch way too many movies, Trix,” Sour sighed. “Besides, it’s Tiger Sharks you’d have to worry about, not Great Whites. They eat anything.”
“A-Anything?” Trixie squeaked out. “And does this include little stage magicians named Trixie?”
“Probably. Tires and even metal have been found in Tiger Shark stom-” Sour shrugged, before Indigo smacked her firmly upside the head making her let out a little yelp.
“Sour, anyone ever tell you that you don’t have a way with words?” the soccer star deadpanned. “See, you’re scaring the girl!” she said, gesturing to Trixie who was rocking back and forth in a fetal position.
“Sorry, been watching old reruns of Shark Week again. I get bored, okay?” Sour shrugged. “And nothing beats boredom then watching sharks munch things to itty bitty pieces!”
“Not. Helping!” Indigo hissed, before looking skywards muttering to herself: “Why do I even bother sometimes? God pity the girlfriend or boyfriend you end up with…”
“Relax Trixie,” a new voice popped in, quite chipper. “Tiger Sharks, Great Whites, they live off in warmer waters like down near Florida or something. Sure as Hell won’t find any down here in Maine!”
“Juniper!” Twilight exclaimed, rushing up to hug the girl who’d clad herself in a green two-piece. “What… I mean what are you doing here?”
“Well, I suppose I could ask you the same thing yourself Twilight,” Juniper Montage said. “But if you must know, my uncle Canter Zoom, he’s out here down the coast a little ways shooting this film called “The Legend of Desert Island, a Fisherman’s Tale." Some low-budget horror thing, revolving around this young girl and this haunted lighthouse. He’s in one of his phases again…”
Twilight shared a knowing look. Canter Zoom, from what she’d heard of her chat over the internet with Juniper had these phases were sometimes he’d go off to shoot some low budget film by himself, to reignite the creative flame or something like that. Never were really noteworthy, these pieces, more likely to end up on Mystery Science Theatre but they always got him thinking on the much larger pieces that made him famous. Suppose everyone needed a break now and then from writing blockbusters. Twilight and Juniper never judged.
“Yeah, didn’t want to spend my time around a B-Film’, -Even one of my uncle’s- production knowing I was probably going to end up riffing it whenever it aired on late night TV,” Juniper sighed. “Saw you gals, looked like you were having fun so I decided to see what was up.”
Her eyes briefly drifted towards Knock-Out, who was resting up on a cobblestone parking lot near the beach in his vehicle mode. Swordbreaker was nearby, a black dog -Somewhat larger than normal and rather wolfish- resting on his hood soaking up the sun’s rays. “Nice car. Where’d you get it? Your family win the lottery or something?” Juniper questioned.
All of the others sucked in breaths or shared nervous looks. Thankfully, Trixie was quick with the save.
“Hardly, it’s Twilight’s uncle’s! He’s letting us borrow it for the day,” Trixie explained, and although Juniper looked somewhat suspicious, she let it slide. “Dog’s his as well, he said it needs some exercise.
This dog, was, in fact, Feral Steel under a holographic glamour to keep an eye on Sunny as Fowler had asked. He wasn’t the only Predacon in the area, Sunder was lurking out of sight amongst the nearby treeline.
“Ah, I got ya.” Juniper nodded. “He does look a little fat…”
Feral let out a little growl, and Juniper yelped a little. “Though I mean nothing by that, just an observation!” She stammered out, holding her hands up defensively.
“Steel, be quiet.” Sunny barked out from nearby, pointing a stern figure at the Predacon, who quavered under her gaze. Knock Out chuckled softly to himself, Feral Steel, one of the more infamous Predacon hunters now a simple housepet controlled by a human!
It took Knock Out a second to realize what the sound of metal grinding against metal meant, but he soon realized that Swordbreaker was laughing at this as well.
“Funny, I didn’t even think that guy had a sense of humor…” the Medic thought to himself.
“Hey, what’s that?” Juniper asked, pointing towards the bay, where what looked to be a giant fin cutting through the water was briefly seen before submerging once more.
“Shark?” Sour asked before she turned… moody again. “Nah, more likely some little brat who thought it’d be a good idea to give us all a jump scare for shits and giggles!” she corrected herself before shouting: “Hey you little punk, you need better prank ideas! That one, so old and overused!”
“...Well, I’m waiting a few more hours till I take a dip in that water.” Indigo decided.
“Is she… always like that?” Juniper asked delicately leaning into Twilight’s ear for a whisper, taking a few steps back from Sour as she did so.
“Yeah. Pretty much,” Twilight sighed. “You get used to it. ...Somewhat.”
“...Little punk probably would have tried to grope my breasts as well!” Sour muttered, crossing her arms. Indigo patted her on the shoulder sympathetically, looking rather unnerved. Whether if it was from Sour’s rant or the idea of a shark in the waters was uncertain.
Feral’s blood red optics had narrowed slightly as he observed the shark fin when it had appeared, seemingly in suspicion although nobody seemed to notice this or his hackles raising for that matter.
“Well, it’s a beach, so why not just enjoy ourselves a little eh?” Lemon cried out, grabbing Trixie’s radio away from her and tuning into the local station. “Seriously, bit too quiet around here for my tastes!”
“Oh, the shark, babe, has such teeth, dear
And it shows them pearly white
Just a jackknife has old MacHeath, babe
And he keeps it, ah, out of sight
Ya know when that shark bites with his teeth, babe…”
Sour quite quickly changed the station to something else.
“Not. Helping.” she grumbled. Next song, wasn’t exactly helpful either. Seemed someone watching them had a sense of humor.
“Baby, there's a shark in the water
There's something underneath my bed
Oh, please believe I said
“Baby, there's a shark in the water
I caught them barking at the moon
Better be soon…”
“Oh come on!” Sour shouted in disbelief, throwing her hands up in the air. “I swear, if the next song that comes on is “Once Bitten, Twice Shy” then I’ll…” she trailed off into undecryptable muttering.
Thankfully, Juniper and everyone else around her was saved from a potential explosion of rage from the freckled girl by the next song actually just being a swing jazz instrumental.
Feral looked up towards where he knew where Sunder was hiding, and said in the Predacon tongue over his private comms: “You had something to do with the music didn’t you? Seems like your sense of humor.”
Sunder just made beeping sounds of swearing innocence. Feral didn’t entirely believe him.
“Come on Twi, dance!” Trixie said, as she got up off her towel and began to groove to the music.
“I… I don’t know how to…” Twilight mumbled to herself almost too quiet to hear.
“What, you don’t know how to dance?” Trixie asked. “Awww… Do not worry, the Great and Instructing Trixie shall teach you! Soon, you’ll be dancing like that old guy from… what was it? Footfree? Trixie admits she’s no eighties expert so she only guesses.”
“Kevin Bacon,” Twilight answered as Juniper and Indigo giggled in the background at the couple’s antic. “And I don’t do disco.”
“Now, none of that!” Trixie reprimanded with a little wag of the finger, only increasing the laughter. “Now, all you have to do, is put your arms around my waist like so…” Trixie continued, as she rested her hands on Twilight’s shoulders.
“So, anyways, Twilight,” Juniper continued as she watched her friend and Trixie engage in a slow dance from her place on a fold-out chair. “Got this friend of mine, thought you might get along with her, or at least Fluttershy might. Met her over Twitter, and no I don’t care what that girl with the smartphone, Vignette Valencia says, it’s not an outdated trend.”
“Wait, Vignette Valencia? Social media celebrity?” Lemon asked in excitement, and everyone looked at her. Or more accurately, stared directly at her in stunned silence. Lemon blushed sheepishly. “I’m… I’m a fan. I follow her everywhere!”
“...My respect for you just dropped tenfolds,” Sugarcoat sighed, rubbing her forehead. “Social media celebrities, everybody knows who they are just because they’ve done something so minute like post this small video of them doing something stupid like… Oh, I don’t know, say “It's like a turducken!” and get your statement remixed into something mildly entertaining,” she explained, her voice dripping with no small amount of disgust. “Basically, you end up with the Kardashians in the end, everybody knows them but nobody knows exactly why. ...Might explain why shows like Duck Dynasty took off. Seriously, who cares about a family of duck hunters in the state of Louisiana?”
“...What’s a turducken?” Lemon asked, rubbing her chin in thought. She, of course, had completely ignored or tuned out most of Sugarcoat’s little spiel on her opinions about social media. Like she and pretty much everyone else did most of the time. Just nod your head and pretend you were following it, was everyone’s general solution to whenever Sugarcoat wanted to voice her… opinions on something she found distasteful.
“Hypothetical mix of a chicken, turkey and a duck. Think they made the idea into a sandwich once. Not even Pinkie would eat it,” Twilight replied with a small shudder of disgust at the idea. “But we’re getting off track here. Juniper, this friend of yours?”
“Oh, oh, yes yes!” Juniper replied, flushing in embarrassment having lost herself in Sugarcoat’s little running commentary on social media celebrities. Adjusting her glasses, she continued. “She’s… well, she’s pretty much like how you used to be. Complete shut-in, only friends seem to be the plants in her parent’s greenery. A, uh, wallflower, you might say. Could use someone to talk to really. She’s begun to open up more over social media, but she’s not really had an actual…”
“Face to face conversation?” Twilight sighed sadly in complete understanding. “Yeah, I know how that feels. Before I met the girls, only real friends I had were these people in a chatroom related to Dungeons and Dragons…” she trailed off sadly, before chuckling in remembrance. How funny it would be, one of those friends would later turn out to be Trixie.
“Ooh ooh!” Lemon piped up, practically jumping up in down in excitement with her hand held high. “I could go talk to her! Give her some sick beats, everybody bonds over music!”
“No offense, but I’d think you’d be a bit too… wild for her.” Juniper deadpanned.
“Actually, the idea does have merit. Mind you, I’d tag along with her, just to keep Lemon in check but music has been used to help people communicate. Studies actually have been conducted on this,” Twilight explained. “It’s been found, and I’m quoting from this article I found online mind you: “Singing provides increased phonation duration (holding out a sound for a long time), intonation, and has a shared auditory-motor pathway with speech. One unique feature of music is its rhythm – the rhythm we find in song is inherently predictable and may help cue what’s coming next.” Twilight quoted, word for word from pure memory.
“See?” Lemon said with a smug little smile before she sighed. “I… I don’t know if you gals knew this, but before I was… well, me, not exactly the most sociable person around. The only outlet I had to express my emotions? Well, it was music.”
“Oh Zesty…” Indigo whispered, bringing her girlfriend in for a hug. Lemon tried to fight back the blush she had with her girlfriend’s somewhat exposed breasts so close to her, but was failing badly. So, she just changed the subject. Quickly.
“Yes, well, that’s in the past. Eventually, few people took notice of the music I liked, and we started talking back and forth about various genres, bands and like. Tuned me onto stuff -If you excuse the poor pun- I didn’t even know about! Remember that song I was singing in CPA’s cafeteria a few weeks back?”
“Something from that old Sylvester Stallone movie called Cobra, right? “You got the Touch” or something like that?” Indigo remembered, an image in her mind of Lemon doing air guitar atop one of CPA’s cafeteria tables.
“Yes, that!” Lemon chimed in, back to her old perky self.
“Didn’t know you were an obscure movie buff,” Juniper put in. “What’s your name again?”
“Indigo, Indigo Zap,” Indigo said, offering her hand for Juniper to shake, which was accepted. “I have the feeling, given who your uncle is, this will be the beginnings of a fine friendship.”
“Yeah…” Juniper smiled softly and had to force the tears away from her eyes, before she found herself looking Lemon dead in the eyes.
“Just remember one thing,” Lemon said in a completely serious tone. “She’s mine, okay? So, no stealing!”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Juniper smiled before she looked at the waters, and the sun just beginning to set. “So, if you ask me, I say we hit the bay before the waters get too cold for a dive okay? Sounds like a good time if you ask me! Who knows, might be able to capture some good footage for something, maybe even find the Pocomoonshine monster!” she exclaimed in excitement, holding up a little underwater camera.
“So glad someone believes in that thing as well!” Trixie chimed in triumphantly.
“Sounds like fun, monster or no monster,” Indigo shrugged. “Shark’s probably long gone by now, if there ever was one to begin with.”
“Great!” Juniper said, hugging her newest friend briefly -Ignoring or just not outright hearing Lemon’s growl of jealousy- and dashing off. “Be back in a sec, just need to grab my gear!”
“...She’s so much more developed than me.” Lemon whimpered to herself, with Sour patting her on the shoulder in sympathy.
It wasn't even a few minutes later that the two had descended. Under the waves, everything was so much more calm and tranquil. Indigo never knew quite why, but she always liked the water. She was certainly no siren of the sea, but she did find herself at peace whenever she took a dive in the school’s pool. Maybe, just maybe, it stemmed from the fact that whenever she was back at CPA, being underwater meant there was nobody to really bother her in any form.
Nearby, Juniper was scanning the murky waters of the bay with her camera every now and then, in hopes of catching something. Every time she thought she saw something dart past her, she let out a little squeak of excitement and turned her camera in that direction.
“Why do I get the feeling this isn’t the first time you’ve done this?” Indigo asked via sign language. She’d had this deaf cousin at CHS, so she’d made it prudent to learn the language as soon as she could.
“Yeah, sorry. Just been fascinated with the Lake Pocomoonshine monster for quite a while now. Been down to the lake once, forgotten why I was there but laid down some camera traps in hopes of catching something.” Juniper signed back.
“And did you?” Indigo had to ask.
“Actually, now that you mention it, yes. Yeah, I did,” Juniper replied. “Mind you, couldn’t tell exactly what it was. Only that it was big, and white. Took up the entire shot, couldn’t really make heads or tails of it. But I truly believe it was the monster.”
“Well, can’t stop believing I suppose,” Indigo shrugged. “As Twilight was ever so keen to remind me, we know more about space than we do our own waters.”
“Ah yes… Twilight.” Juniper sighed sadly.
“Something wrong?” Indigo had to ask out of concern, even though she very well knew the answer.
“It’s just… well, for the longest time now, ever since that little incident at my uncle’s film studio with the Daring Do movie, and then what happened next with me turning into this giant monster, everybody except for Twilight and now you girls know me as this bitchy and spiteful little girl willing to sabotage a high-budget flick just for my time in the spotlight. Played with fire, and I got burned.”
“And by fire, I assume you mean Equestrian magic right?” Indigo asked, and Juniper looked at her in shock, sapphire eyes widened.
“How did you…?”
“Let’s just say I’ve had some experience with the stuff as well,” Indigo replied.
“You didn’t…?” Juniper trailed off.
“Turn into some sort of she-demon? No, I didn’t, but Twilight herself did. You’d have to ask her for the shameful details of the whole sordid affair,” Indigo sighed to herself. “But you didn’t know what you’d gotten your hands on, right? Didn’t know what would happen?”
“That’s the thing, I did sorta have a guess at what I’d stumbled upon with that damned mirror,” Juniper grumbled shamefully. “And I didn’t care about what happened next, all I ever wanted was for everyone’s attentions to be on me for a change, not my uncle! I was an idiot, pure and simple.”
“Hey, quality over quantity, right?” Indigo signed, smiling reassuringly and patting Juniper on the shoulder.
“Yeah, I suppose…” Juniper replied, before her eyes caught wind of something. “Hey, what’s that?” she asked, pointing to this really odd bright blue glow in front of them and began swimming towards it.
“Juniper, wait!” Indigo wanted to shout, but growled in frustration and swam after her. Her eyes were soon to widen in shock at what she saw next. Laying in front of her, was this massive metallic form, coated in bronze paint and unquestionably Cybertronian in design. It was mostly devoid of features, so it was impossible to tell what it would have turned into when it was alive, but what was laying next to it giving off the glow was even more curious in nature. Massive crystals, humming and glowing with some ethereal, otherworldly energy. Pure, raw energon.
“Is that… is that a giant robot?” Juniper signed, her eyes blinking in abject shock. She was so stunned, she failed to see Indigo pull out two bracers, and click them together like some sort of Sentai heroine and turn into a gray and silver armored warrior with hints of blue.
“W-What the…?” Juniper asked, before noticing the eyes the robot had. They were the same shade as Indigo’s. The exact same shade. “Indigo, that you?”
Her only answer was a small nod, and then Indigo opened up her wrist gauntlets to open a transmission to the Autobase.
“Perceptor, you getting these readings?” she asked. “And I said there was nothing down here…” she thought to herself, chuckling in amusement.
“Yes, quite,” Perceptor replied. “Don’t believe it, pure unrefined energon Crystals on this planet, and a faint Cybertronian life signal as well!”
“Faint, as in you mean he’s still… alive?” Indigo asked in fear.
“Not him, but I can’t…” Perceptor trailed off. “Indigo, you and your friend. You need to get out of there now! Something’s coming, and something’s coming fast!”
Sure enough, shooting through the water ahead of them was this massive white form, serpentine in nature resembling this legless and whiskerless Asian dragon with spines on his/her back.
“Move, now!” Indigo shouted, as the serpent let out a practically ear-splitting shriek of pure undiluted rage. Then, its throat glowed a very bright blue as something hummed and charged up, before it fired a blast of pure blue energy from its jaws...