//------------------------------//
// The Encircling Fins 
// Story: Reformation... It's a Pony Thing 
// by Lets Do This 
//------------------------------//

On the surface, White Bay had been just an broad expanse of glittering waves. Beneath, it was an endless panoply, a near-riot of living things. Mountainous coral beds, covered in waving green fronds and leaves, neon-colored anemonies, clams and oysters, long-whiskered and spikey crustaceans, skulking octopi and eels, and colorful fish -- and that was just the seafloor. All around, darting through the deeps, were huge schools of fish, swirling about in formation, turning on a whim unpredictibly. They were like huge, living shimmering clouds in an endless warm, sunlit blue sky, through which Twilight and her party swam determinatedly ahead, looking for a particular ravine near an underwater peak.

"I wish we were here under better circumstances," Fluttershy said. "I could just stay here and look at everything for hours!"

"It shore is purty!" Applejack agreed. "Wouldn't mind a vacation here myself!" She looked at Twilight nervously. "You think the sharks will come meet us here?"

"I tried to word the message as diplomatically as I could," Twilight said. "We just have to hope they're willing to talk with us."

"And let us go, afterward," Rainbow muttered. "Seriously? If these guys are involved in this ivory-trade thing, you really think they're going to let us leave knowing what we know?"

"That land-shark said they were after live magic-users, not horns," Capper pointed out. "It still sounds suspicious, but... maybe we don't have the whole picture. We should at least let them tell us what they think is going on."

"And if they do get disagreeable," Tempest said,  "we're not exactly undefended!" She gestured to the soldiers, swimming in formation around them.

"Remember what Queen Novo said," Twilight warned. "Our actions reflect on the seaponies. We should avoid a confrontation, if we can."

"Understood, Princess." Tempest glanced around. "Although speaking of Queen Novo, there's something important you should know."

"What?"

"Princess Skystar is following us."

"What?"

Twilight turned, looking to where Tempest had pointed. She spotted the gold-flanked hippogriff, now back in her seapony form, peering at them from behind a nearby coral formation.

Realizing she'd been seen, the Princess abandoned cover and swam eagerly over to join them. "Hi, there!"

Twilight facehoofed. "Are you kidding me? Skystar, do you know what your mother is going to think when she finds that you're missing... again?"

Skystar drew back, looking sad. "I'm sorry, Twilight! It's just... well, I was getting so bored, being grounded. Mother won't let me go anywhere!"

"So... you run away to follow us," Rainbow said, "which is basically what got you grounded in the first place. That's... actually pretty gutsy, when you stop to think about it!"

"I know, right?" Skystar giggled. "I mean, what's Mother going to do, ground me twice? And I just couldn't pass up the chance to spend some time with all of you again! Especially you, Pinkie!"

Pinkie Pie beamed happily, and hugged her.

Twilight sighed. "Look, it's great seeing you, Skystar," she said. "But right now we're heading into what may be a dangerous situation. So the best thing to do would be for us to take you back home right now!"

"Awww, do you have to?" Skystar and Pinkie said, almost in chorus.

"We'll have plenty of time to catch up later," Twilight reassured her. "And if we move quickly enough, maybe your mother won't even notice you've gone."

"Uh, Twi..." Applejack said nervously, glancing around. "I don't think we're gonna be able to do that!"

"We have to!" Twilight objected. "Things are delicate enough with the Queen as it is, and..."

She suddenly paused, looking where Applejack was looking. And saw, circling in the distance, a slim, streamlined shape. Looking around, she saw more of them, just on the edge of visibility. More were appearing all the time, on every side.

"Gulp. I think the sharks are here!" Spike said. Then he hiccuped, and inflated into a spiky ball.

Tempest motioned with a forehoof, and her soldiers swam into a protective ring around their party

"Princess, do me a favor."

"What?"

"Keep everyone together -- and out of the way!"

"Tempest!"

Even as Twilight spoke, one of the circling forms turned about... and arrowed straight for them.

Tempest gestured again, and a soldier intercepted the shark, side-swiping it and slapping it hard with its tail. The shark veered off and swam away. But another was angling in from the other side. It was met by two soldiers who converged on it, one swatting it with a fin, the other whacking it with its snout.

More of the sharks were closing in, all around them. The soldiers met them head-on, turning them aside with swats, swipes, and jabs. It was rapidly descending into a general underwater melee all around them. For the moment the soldiers were able to keep the sharks at bay without seriously injuring them, but it was only a matter of time before it turned bloody.

Tempest herself simply hung in the water, directly above her friends, glancing about from side to side, searching...

"Where are you...?" she whispered. "Come on! Where are you? Where..."

And then she looked up. And saw a single, streamlined shape circling directly above. "There you are!"

With a slap of her tail, Tempest launched herself upward, straight at it. The shark belatedly attempted to escape, but she shoulder-rammed it and gave it a pummeling tail-slap that sent it tumbling. The shark ended up floating upside down...

... and hung there, helpless.

Tempest cautiously approached it. And saw it was shivering.

Grubber darted up and around her, staring at the shark. "Woah! Could ya teach me that move, boss?"

"Not sure what I did!"

"Tonic immobility, Tempest!" Twilight called up from below.

"No thanks, Princess. I'm trying to cut down."

"I mean, for some creatures, putting them on their back paralyzes them temporarily!"

"Oh. Would have been nice to know that earlier!" Tempest called back.

"Sorry, my encyclopaedic knowledge doesn't come with an index."

But the shark wasn't entirely paralyzed. "Please," it whispered, "make the kill quick, O Holy One!"

"Oh, really?" Tempest's eyebrows went up. "And just who do you think I am, exactly?"

"Great Selachia, have mercy!" the shark replied, clearly terrified almost out of his wits. "Do not send your dolphin armies to destroy us! We serve the Great Whites, but we do not worship them! Spare us!"

All around them, the other sharks had broken off their attack, and were staring up at their leader. And at Tempest, with awestruck, humble, placating expressions.

Tempest glanced down at Twilight. "Oooh, so tempting, right?" Then she turned back to the shark.

"I... think you may have me confused with somepony else. My name is Tempest Shadow. And I'm actually not here to harm anyone... provided no one gives me further reason!" She gave the shark a narrow-eyed glare that made him shiver even more. And then she reached out a hoof and flipped him back upright again. Before he could dart away, she threw a forehoof across his back and then gently but firmly steered him downwards towards her friends.

"And," She went on, smiling brightly, "you really should be talking to the pony in charge. May I present Her Majesty, Princess Twilight Sparkle?" She gestured with her other forehoof.

Twilight smiled brightly.

"Hi there! Princess of Friendship. Do you happen to know where we could find Bruce the Toothed? It's kind of important!"


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


Queen Novo gazed down on the ocean passing steadily beneath the ship. "Hmmm... looks like they're on the move again. Which I suppose is reassuring. Captain Skyranger!"

"Majesty?" Already standing proudly at attention, the blue-coated hippogriff somehow managed to stand an inch taller.

"I'll be taking this back to where it's safe." Novo gestured at the gold chest containing the Pearl. "I'm leaving you in charge of our squadron here, and as my liason with the Princess and her friends. When she returns, send word to me at once."

"Majesty!" Skyranger bowed compliantly. "But, if I may, do you think this is wise? Entrusting our relations with our neighbors to this... Princess Twilight? And especially to those with her?"

Queen Novo gave him a look. "From what Celestia tells me, that little pony has a knack for winding up exactly where she's needed. And if I can't trust the Princess of Friendship to avoid making enemies, I'd like to know who I can trust." She frowned. "As for the others... well. We'll just have to see how reliable they turn out to be!"

Motioning to the guards escorting the Pearl, she spread wings and lifted off from the deck. The guards followed, carefully toting the chest between them.

Skyranger watched them go, shaking his head. "I do hope you're right, Your Majesty!"

"Excuse me... Captain Skyranger? Might I have a word?"

Skyranger turned, and then took a step back in surprise. Hanging in the air before him was a disturbing looking creature, something like a cross between a stormcloud and a dried apricot. And yet its voice was quietly cultured, its bearing smoothly diplomatic. It was somehow... reassuring... even as it spoke in hurried urgency.

"My name is Strife," it said. "I've just managed to escape from the prison I was being held in below. And I need to warn you about Princess Twilight and her associates... and their plans for your Queen Novo and the Pearl!"


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


The sharks quickly -- though somewhat reluctantly -- led Twilight's party across the sea floor and down into a broad sunken basin. In the center of which was...

... a ruined city. Granite and marble walls, broken spires, and endless open-roofed and enclosed chambers littered with relics and pottery... the city's structures stretched on and on across the seabed. Every turn of a corner or stretch of street revealed something new. And even as they were, furred with sea-moss and draped with weed, the ancient towers were imposing and intimidating. Carvings and statues and mosaics depicted armored hippogriffs contesting with creatures of every description. And there were more contemplative touches as well: brick-edged garden plots and broken fountains and sheltered seating areas.

Twilight and her friends gazed about in silent astonishment. "There are legends about sunken cities," Twilight said. "But I never thought I'd actually see one! This must be why the hippogriffs have such strong connections with the sea. If they once lived here..."

"It'd explain why they were so comfortable with becoming seaponies again," Applejack agreed.

"Thing I wonder, y'all," Capper said, "is what happened to this place? To put it this far under water?"

The shark leading them suddenly came to a halt. Turning towards them, it nervously gestured with a fin towards a broad doorway to the right, which opened onto a roofless building that might once have been a grand meeting hall.

"The Great Whites will see you now."

Tempest sent a couple of her soldiers through the doorway first, then accompanied Twilight through. The others followed along behind. And when the soldiers in front swam to either side to be out of the way, Twilight came to a quick halt.

Facing her were not just one, but five Great White sharks, ranged in a loose half-circle facing the doorway. And if Twilight had thought the streamlined, dusky-finned sharks who had escorted her were intimidating, these monsters were heart-stopping. The largest of them, in the center, had to be at least twenty-five feet from nose to tail. The sheer number of razor-edged triangular teeth facing her was chilling all by itself. Any one of the sharks could have taken an entire pony in one massive gulp.

The large one in the center, huge and imposing, was staring in her direction. The gaze of its depthlessly black, marble-like eyes was distubingly cold and soulless, piercingly sharp. But the creature wasn't staring at her, she realized... it was glaring at the smaller shark that had ushered them in.

"What is this, Smokefin? What is it I'm seein' here?" The large shark growled. He glanced at the sharks to either side of him. "I don't believe it. I told them! Did I not tell them? Don't mess with the seaponies! We don't want them comin' down here and complaining, 'cause we'll never hear the end of it! And what do they do? They bring me seaponies. Unbelievable!" He rolled his eyes. "And just look at you! You had to try to rough them up, didn't ya? I send you out there to do a simple pick-up, you turn it into a free-for-all. And bad enough you start a fight, looks like you got the worst of it, didn't ya? Now tell me, how does that make me look, huh? We're supposed to be a professional organization here. Right?"

"Sorry, Bruce. We... uh, kind of got carried away."

"You got carried away." The large shark scowled. He deliberately sniffed at the water around him. "Do I smell blood in the water? Do I? Huh? Try again, shrimp-brain! Or better yet, just don't! Just... get outta my sight!"

Smokefin cringed, and quickly darted away.

"Now I gotta pick up the pieces here!" Bruce shook his head. "So where do I start?" Then he stared at the group of seaponies. "Oh, for the love of..." He grimaced. "Princess Skystar! Somefish tell me they didn't bring me Princess Skystar! 'Cause that's just about gonna bring the sky down on us! Your Highness," he said to her genteely, "a thousand apologies for this insult!"

"Um... it's okay!" Skystar replied nervously. "It's my fault, actually! I came along on my own, just to be with my friends."

"Very obliging of you to see it that way, Your Highness! And, er... just who is it we are welcoming here with you?"

Capper beamed. "Allow me to start off the introductions, y'all!" he said smoothly. "Now we have Princess Skystar of the hippogriffs, who I see you already know. And may I present Her Majesty, Princess Twilight Sparkle, Friendship Princess of Equestria!"

Bruce nodded his huge head respectfully. "Princess Sparkle! I am Bruce the Toothed, at your service. But I understood Equestria was pony territory... up north, on the land?"

"That's right, sir! It's, uh... a long trip, and a long story," Twilight replied. She quickly introduced the other Element bearers and Spike and Grubber as well. "And this is Tempest Shadow. She's my bodyguard."

"Huh! I imagine she's the reason Smokefin and the boys were lookin' so much the worse for wear!"

"Eee-yeah... sorry about that!"

"Don't apologize, Your Highness." Bruce grinned. "I consider it a learning experience for him."

"And last, but certainly not least," Twilight finished, gesturing with a forehoof, "the very charming Prince Cappadocio, who is here representing the sovereign nation-state of Abyssinia."

Capper smiled, and with a flick of his tailfin managed a smooth bow.

"Well!" Bruce said genially. "We are deeply honored, to be hosting such a royal gatherin'. Are we not honored?" he asked his associates. "Shut up, of course we are! Now, Princess Sparkle, the message we received said you wished to discuss the abduction of a number of ponies from Equestria, am I right?"

"We're... following up on that, yes," Twilight said cautiously. "We wondered if you might... possibly..."

"Please, Your Highness!" Bruce interrupted. "I am a business-fish. Let us speak plainly. Yes, we had a request to obtain a number of magic-using creatures... alive and unharmed, our instructions were very clear on that point. So we put out the word, and our contacts in the sea and on land obtained some for us. I understand this is distressing, both to them and to you, but they'd have been returned safely when they were no longer needed."

"I... see." Twilight grimaced. "But it isn't just ponies that have been disappearing. Apparently seaponies have been taken as well. And Skystar's friend Silverstream was grabbed on land, so someone's going after hippogriffs, too."

"I am very disturbed to hear that, Your Highness," Bruce replied flatly. "Our associates have strict instructions to leave the seaponies and 'griffs alone. Of course, it is possible some of those they worked with did not get the message. I shall look into this, I promise you!"

"It's more than just not gettin' the message!" Applejack broke in angrily.

"Yeah!" Rainbow added. "There are poachers out there right now, in Equestria, huntin' ponies for their horns!"

Twilight frantically waved them to silence.

"I had not heard of this." Bruce frowned darkly. "Your Highness," he said to Twilight. "Have any of your citizens been harmed as a result?"

"Thankfully, no!" Twilight said. "We've... actually recovered most of the ponies who were taken."

"I am relieved to hear that."

"However," Twilight added, seeing an opening, "there is one pony that we're still looking for. Her name is Rarity, and --"

"White pony, dark hair? Acts like she's surrounded by mirrors all the time?"

"Yes, that's her!" Despite herself Twilight couldn't help smiling. "Is she all right?"

"She was unharmed, yes, when she passed through here," Bruce said. "Apparently she was intended as some kind of initial sample of the other ponies, who'd would be delivered later. We already sent her on, as per Mama's request."

Twilight stifled Spike's angry retort with her hoof. "Uh... Mama?"

"Mama Orcina, of course!" Bruce nodded, understandingly. "You probably have not heard of her. That's the way she likes it. She prefers to keep to herself. Does most of her business through us, as well as the other sharks in the southern bays."

"And she's the one looking for magic-users?" Twilight said. "Do you know why?"

"Not our business, Your Highness." For once, Bruce looked uncomfortable. "We have a simple rule down here: whatever Mama wants, Mama gets. It don't pay to get inquisitive."

"Oh..." Twilight fell silent, thinking hard. Then she looked up at the shark.

"We still need to find Rarity. Now, you said you were requested to provide magic-using ponies to Mama Orcina? We'd like to go in place of the ponies who were to be sent to her."

Bruce looked surprised... and more than a little relieved. "That is most generous of you, Your Highness. It also enables me to avoid falling through on a contract, for which I am very grateful. Is there anything the Great Whites might do for you in return?"

"A couple things. First, get the word out through your... associates... to stop capturing creatures for their horns?"

"Consider that already done! I believe in honorable exchange, Princess. Poaching, I do not tolerate!"

"And could you also stop them from bringing in magic-using creatures in general?"

"Hmmm. I can only halt things temporarily. If Mama should ask for more..."

"I understand. And one other thing?"

"Name it."

"Could you see to it that Princess Skystar gets home safely?"

"Twilight!"

"Skystar, you shouldn't be here in the first place!" Twilight told her. "Your mother would never forgive me if you were harmed. Don't worry... we'll tell you all about it when we get back, trust me!"

"I'll go with you, Skystar!" Pinkie Pie offered brightly. "We can chat on the way!"

"Thanks," Skystar said quietly, looked broken-hearted. "I just... well... I just wanted to be with all of you again. Having adventures, saving the world, that sort of thing? It's so much more exciting than sitting around doing crafts with shells." She glanced around, and then whispered, "Don't tell Shelly or Sheldon I said that!"

"My lips are sealed," Twilight assured her. "And we'll see you when we get back!"

"I admire your confidence, Princess. I truly do." Bruce said. "But as it happens, I am afraid I will not be able to return the Princess for you."

"What?" Twilight stared up at him, anxiously.

Then she realized the shark was staring at something above and behind her, his eyes wide and fearful. Turning, she looked. And saw three immense black-and-white orcas peering down at them all, like looming thunderheads.

"Remember what I said, Princess..." Bruce said quietly, not taking his eyes off them. "Whatever Mama wants, Mama gets!"