Twilight Sparkle
Summit of Mount Aris
October 14th, 007 SLT
Captain Calaeno had dropped the Main 6 off on the top of the mountain. After the epic battle in the sky, it was the least she could do for them. But as they looked around them, it became apparent that something was badly wrong.
The city of Hippogriffia was in complete and utter ruin. Buildings had been levelled, foundations were broken, and rubble filled the streets. Weeds grew up amongst the paving stones, and the city had a distinct air of neglect to it.
“Are we sure this is the right place?” Rarity asked.
“Hello?” Applejack called. “Anypony home?”
Nobody answered. Twilight was the next to speak. “This reminds me of Cherneighbyl.”
“Where’s that?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“It’s in Yakyakistan. They were testing a Megaspell Reactor there and it went wrong. The area is completely uninhabitable.”
“Here, hippgriffies!” Pinkie yelled, completely oblivious as always to any other conversation. “None here, or there! This place is a ghost town!”
“G-ghost town?” Fluttershy asked, visibly scared. As if to hammer the point home, strange music began to echo through the air.
“It’s coming from over there!” Twilight called. The girls slipped under a collapsed archway, and arrived in a vast chamber after a short meander through a tunnel.
The chamber had a vaulted roof and twin Hippogriff statues on either side. Set against the back wall were hieroglyphics, and the centre of the chamber was marked by a vast pool.
A figure was visible in the water in the centre, when Pinkie dislodged a paving stone.
“What was that?!” cried a surprised voice, and suddenly they dived into the water.
Pinkie ran forward. “Hey, wait up!” She jumped into the air, and dived into the water. “CANNONBALL!”
“Pinkie!” cried Twilight, and ran forward to pull her friend out of the water. Pinkie surfaced with no difficulty.
“She’s gone!” the pink mare replied.
“Twi,” asked Rainbow. “Any particular reason we’re standing in the water? I don’t think any of us can swim!”
There was a loud clang, as if the plug had been pulled out. “Now what?” Twilight asked, clearly exasperated.
The water turned into a whirlpool, and the girls were sucked in. “I hate adventures,” Rarity groaned, as they were sucked under.
Beneath the blackness of the seas, there was no air at all. Twilight fought for air, but it was all for naught, and everything went black.
Eventually, she did reopen her eyes to find herself and her friends surrounded by air bubbles.
“Way to leave it to the last second Twilight!” Exclaimed Pinkie.
“I didn’t make these bubbles!” Twilight replied.
“Then who did?” asked Fluttershy.
Suddenly, a yellow object swam past them. Assuming it to be hostile, the girls closed in. “Hello?” asked Twilight. “We’re looking for the hippogriffs.”
“How do I know I can trust you?” asked the object, in a sing-song voice.
“Please,” Twilight implored, “the Storm King invaded our land, and we need their help alongside that of the Americans.”
“The Storm King? The Americans?” the voice asked. The object closed in, turning out to be a seapony with yellow fur, as well as blue fins and mane. “I’m so glad I found you guys! I’m totally taking you to my Mom!” With that, she grabbed Twilight’s hoof and off they went.
“Does she have an idea where they may be?” asked Twilight.
“She may have a pretty good idea! But if the Americans are here, then the tide has truly turned!”
Down and down they went, deeper and deeper into the ocean. After they had been travelling for what seemed like days, the figure turned back to them. “We’re almost there!” she cried. The sight that rewarded them more than justified the journey.
It was a vast underwater city, with buildings lodged into the rockwork, and a vast dome hanging from a rock ceiling. The dome was constructed of steel and strong glass, and glowed purple like a gem.
“Welcome to Seaquestria!” their guide told them.
The Main 6 could only open their mouths in absolute amazement at the sight that lay before them.
They swam up an access chute and into an airlock, which closed behind them. The pressure reading slowly changed to read SAFE PRESSURE: YOU ARE CLEARED TO PROCEED. WELCOME HOME, PRINCESS SKYSTAR.
They arrived in a vast chamber. Sat before them was a vast throne. In fact, the entire room was a double of the throne room in the Palace of the Two Sisters. Before them on that throne, sat a light pink seapony with purple fins and mane. She had a gold headdress on, and was laid back in a causal manner on the throne.
“Mother!” Skystar called. “Look what I found!”
Applejack looked over to her friends. “Skystar’s a mighty funny name for a seapony.”
“Is it another shell?” the figure asked. She sounded bored, disinterested. “Because I am telling you if it is another she-” She awoke, and looked at the 6 ponies before her with fright. “Princess Skystar!” she snapped. “What have you done? You know outsiders are forbidden here! Guards!”
Seaponys equipped with harpoons swum at the Main 6, holding them at bladepoint.
“No, Mom! It’s not like that!” Skystar tried desperately to defuse the situation. “The Storm King is trying to destroy their home as well! They also know the Americans!”
Twilight spoke up. “We need to find the Hippogriffs. Do you know where they are?”
The figure laughed. “I’m Queen Novo. I know everything.”
“It’s such a good story!” Skystar cried.
“Don’t you dare tell them!” Novo boomed, her voice like acid.
Skystar simply ignored her, and continued. “A long time ago, the hippogriffs lived on top of Mount Aris. But then the Storm King showed up to steal their magic. But the great Queen Novo hid that magic from him, and hid underwater. So, we were the hippogriffs...but now we’re not!”
Novo finpalmed. “Oh, for Faust’s sake,” she moaned.
“Wait a minute!” Applejack interrupted. “When the Storm King showed up, instead of contacting other nations and asking for help, you just ran?”
“We didn’t flee!” Skystar insisted. “We swam in order to flee!”
“If you’d just contacted us, we’d have helped you.” Applejack looked at the others. “We probably wouldn’t be in the mess we are now if they’d done that.”
“How did you flee?” asked Twilight. “Hippogriffs don’t have fins!”
“Can we show them?” Skystar asked, seemingly on a permanent sugar rush. “They’re our first visitors in ages! Can we, can we, can we?”
Nov sighed. “Seeing as you won’t stop asking until you do, it can’t hurt to see if it still works.”
Novo swam past a chandelier made out of a jellyfish. A great arm dropped down, revealing a pearl which Novo took in her front flippers. With a flick of what was once her wrist, 7 streams of light shot out of the orb and toward the Main 6 and Spike.
A strange tingling sensation washed over their bodies, but when it had finished, what a sight they beheld!
In place of their hind legs and tails were flippers, and the ability to breath underwater was added as well. “These fins are divine!” Rarity cried.
“Hey Applejack!” shouted Rainbow. “Race you to the coral!”
Pinkie Pie floated over to Fluttershy. “Come on, try it out!”
Suddenly, a giant purple pufferfish floated past them. “Is that who I think it is?” asked Fluttershy.
“Guys?” the pufferfish asked. “What...is...happening?” He inflated, like a spiky beach ball.
“So cute!” was Fluttershy’s helpful observation.
“This is amazing!” Twilight cried. “With it, we could transform everypony at home into something to face the Storm King!”
“Or it could end up in his claws, or worse the humans could steal it!” Novo thundered.
“But-!”
“I’m sorry,” Novo told her. “And I’m sorry about your home. But my priority is to protect my subjects. And I don’t trust the Americans either. Last I heard, whenever they ‘liberate’ someplace, they take its technology too. Imagine the damage they could do with this sphere!”
“But we’ve come all this way!” Twilight protested. “Do you really want to just stay below the surface and miss what’s happening in the world out there? Besides, the Americans helped up stop Tirek!”
“And they ignored our call for help!” Novo thundered again. “Besides, I am happy to stay down here, safe and sound, then risk danger up there!”
A strange red creature appeared, and made some noises before swimming off again.
“OK,” Novo sighed. “Time for my seaweed wrap.”
Applejack looked in disbelief at the others. “So, we've just wasted an entire week, for NOTHIN’?”
“You could stay with us!” Skystar merrily suggested. “I have so many things that we can do! We can make friendship bracelets out of shells and... picture frames outta shells and... decorative wastebaskets out of shells... Oh, I have so many projects that involve shells, haha! Now I have someone new to share them with! I mean, aside from my friends, Shelly and Sheldon. Right? ‘Shelly’? ‘Sheldon?”
Confused at her rambling speech, the girls simply nodded.
“I’m afraid we cannot stay,” Rarity told her.
“We have families back home,” Applejack explained.
Skystar’s face fell. “Well, if you must. You probably have your own friends back at home. I’ll get Mom to change you back.” With that, she swam off, dejected.
Pinkie looked back. “I know we have to go, but you saw how sad Skystar was!”
“We don’t have ti-”
“No, Pinkie’s right.” Twilight’s interruption surprised the others.
“What?” Rainbow asked.
“We still need a plan to get back to the surface,” Twilight explained. “A few minutes won’t make a difference. And if anypony can cram a lifetime of fun into a few minutes, Pinkie can!”
She paused. “So, go and show Skystar the best time ever!”
“I won’t let you down!” Pinkie cried.
“I’m counting on it,” Twilight said to herself. She glanced up at the pearl, with a smile.
Skystar
Princess of Seaquestria
Seaquestria
October 13th, 007 SLR
Skystar sniffled sadly. “Oh well,” she said. “It’s probably for the best.”
“Well, that was fun!” Novo cried. She looked at the others with a smile. “Well,” she said, “I suppose there is one thing we could do...”
Her train of thought was suddenly interrupted by a loud alarm.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“Ma’am,” replied one of her guards, “A large object has just entered our waters.”