//------------------------------//
// The world below 
// Story: Out to sea 
// by SaltWriter the leviapony 
//------------------------------//

Twilight awoke with a throbbing headache, her vision blurry to what was around her. She tried to get up, but found that her head prevented her from doing so. She instead blinked and tried to register where she was.
      She began to see that the ceiling was a dull red color, with alot of holes in it. The bed she was lying on was made from the same substance, but had a bed layer over it. She looked to her left and saw a creature of some kind, writing into a book.
      The creature had a bright green coat, with a notebook cutiemark. It had a long tail and claws, similar to that of a dragons. Her eyes were brown with blue irises, and her claws were a dark green.
     But what stood out most to twilight was it's mane, which was a flowing body of water. A small fish swam inside it, moving around as it waved. Twilights movement made the creature look at her, the scales on its upper torso glowing in the light. It sighed, and closed the book it was writing in, setting it in a pouch by the side of the bed.
    “finally, you're awake. I was starting to get bored.” She stepped up to twilight and picked her up quickly, placing her in a sitting position on the bed. Twilight groaned and cluched her head, the headache flaring up from the action.
    “Ohh yeah, you'll be feeling a bit under the weather for a bit. The corral on your horn will see to that. But I don't make the rules, no magic and all.”
    “Who are you? And where am I? Where is mmph.” Twilight was interrupted by the creature, who closed her mouth with it's clawed foreleg. She shook her head and looked twilight in the eyes.
    “I'm not here to hear you ask questions. I'm here to translate and keep you secure. But, I'll answer the important questions. My name is Saltwriter, a member of the book department of the leviaponys. You'll be trialed by the great king of our land, and your crew is waiting in a separate area for reference. The king will decide their fate.”
    Twilight looked at her in shock, then fell back onto the hard wall of the room. The news was a lot to process, but she quickly got off the bed and looked to the door.
    “Will the trial start soon? I don't want to keep them waiting, or worrying about me.”
    The creature mumbled something in a language twilight didn't understand, then waved a claw to the door and walked out, twilight following close behind. As they walked twilight noticed various rooms connected to the hall they were in, each with the same creatures as Saltwriter. They had different colors, yet all shared the same cutie mark, something twilight would have to note if she made it out of this.
    The halls were rough on twilight's hooves, as the corral they were made of was something she wasn't used too. She ran right into Saltwriters claw as she stopped by a outcove. A waterfall ran just past the area, softly sounding as it flowed without a drop over the door. Saltwriter reached into her bag and pulled out a small necklace made of pearls, with a small shell on the end.
    “You're gonna need this if you want to see the trial.” Twilight tried to grab it with her magic, but the corral on her head prevented her from doing so. With a grunt, she took it in her hooves and placed it around her neck. It glowed softly as it touched her neck.
    “So, how is this supposed to…” her words were cut off as she was thrust through the water and into a open room. She closed her eyes, holding her breath and expecting to drown. She was bopped on the nose by Saltwriter, making her open her eyes. She looked around and saw she was breathing fine, a bubble of air sealing her off from the water. 
    “Let's get a seat, I'd rather not keep them waiting.” Saltwriter swam over to a set of seats, the set like that of a trial area, and twilight walked down to sit in it. As she walked, she noticed each row had the same cutie mark and color to separate them from each other, the ponies sitting in equally spaced seats. She sat beside Saltwriter and looked around nervously at the large podium before them, wondering what will happen