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// Coltlantis demise 
// Story: Lost History 
// by sniper567 
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	Coltlantis' Demise


Coltlantis was a thriving undersea city. It was a large city made of coral and sterling silver that would shimmer under the rays of sun that made it to the depths of the hidden city. It was a thriving society keeping thousands worm and fed and provided a sense of safety to all those who inhabited it.

Vast fields of kelp and other sea flora kept the ponies fed. Large bubble nets holding the various kind of fauna lay just outside the city providing all that the flora could not. In all the time they lived in the city, nopony was left hungry.

Even their guard was mighty. In all the years since they had started moving the city, never once did a creature get through their outer perimeter. A fierce guard made of only the best swimmers, they patrolled the waters just outside the city and never left an opening. A few were stationed in the city and were regarded as heroes among the other ponies.

But that's not where their stories begin. Many years prior, a dark and mysterious evil who called himself Grogar started to roam the land, swallowing up town after town and clan after clan. It was said if you ran to the water and swam out to deeper depths, the creatures could not get you. But the water was not a place to live for a land pony.

One village tried to build boats to float out to sea. The logistics and size of the vessels soon became problematic. They soon realized that the room required to grow the food required a larger boat then they could build, and that was only for a few ponies. But they believed water would be their salvation.

Soon they became a great seafaring nation with many ships under their control, a large pearl export and fishing village. When the evil came around, they would all set sail for a few days. But this was only a stopgap measure.

Even their best spells and magic could only sustain them for a few days. They needed something stronger and more capable. An old story from a group of pearl divers said along the reef lay a single clam so large no one could pry it open. And when close enough to it, you seemed to be able to breathe for hours.

It was said if you could touch the shell, you could breathe the water like the air. And if you were fast enough to touch the pearl while the clam's mouth was open, it would turn your coat to scales and your lungs to gills.

The queen sent a few of the fastest swimmers during low tide. It took many tries, but one finally slipped the pearl out of the clam's mouth before it slammed shut. With this trinket, the group swam below the surface and has lived there since.

The large clam older than the seafloor produced a single pearl of pink alabaster. So powerful was the pearl formed from a grain of sand, layered by moons of magical buildup, it glimmered brightly even through the darkness of the deep.

But all was not well as time went on. Just as the giant clam lived in the deep, so did others large carnivorous creatures that were hard to track and harder to keep away. For the first few moons, it was not difficult to hide, as their village was small. As they grew and expanded their farmland, things became more difficult to control. Their village grew to a town and then a city. But the scents and bright lights brought other uninvited guests.

If you live long enough, trouble always finds you. In time, the queen put together a plan to keep the society together. Every few years, they would migrate to a new location and establish their city till next year.

With this strategy, they would be able to expand and live just a few steps ahead of all the creatures hunting them. But it was not without risk. Before the migration, scouts would need to find a spot for the following year.

Planning and organization were required. And migration after migration it was carried out with exacting precision. The royal diver squadron was commissioned and had the duty and privilege to hunt for new ground. Some of the most capable divers committed their lives to the city, only retiring when they could no longer keep up with the young ones. Even the older ones still helped with the planning and execution.

It was considered a honor, but as time went on, the logistics got more and more difficult. And planning went from a few days to months. In time, planning would start the day after the migration and it soon became a full-time job.

A powerful object was needed to aid the sea ponies. So the queen sent out the most powerful of her soldiers to hunt down a mythical fish, a deep-water hornfish that hunted its prey by teleporting behind them. A fearsome creature, but still just a fish. While it could outmaneuver the sea ponies, it could not outthink them.

It was a battle that lasted hours, but in the end, a single horn lay in the sand. They used the horn and imbued it with silver and gems and special runes to increase its magic a thousandfold. So powerful was the horn, it moved not only the city but the ground the city sat on. It was a dangerous tool if used improperly.

One such incident involved accidentally switching a large mass of air with the water below. This resulted in a catastrophic implosion of the air buddle shaking the foundations of the city and rendering a shockwave that cracked glass and stone for miles. Anypony near the coast probably saw a small tsunami that day.

As time went on, the queen aged and soon was no longer able to move the city. But in her age, she had forgotten to teach her people how to use both the horn and the pearl. As time went on, it was rough going, and one migration the unthinkable happened.

While the city was moved, it was done in error and the sea ponies had to move fast to prevent a catastrophe. During the rush, the horn was dropped and drifted to the ocean floor to be covered in silt. But they made it to the city just in time to make sure it was secure. And by chance, it was not a bad spot either.

When the time came for another migration, the temple was ransacked looking for the horn, but it could not be found, since it was halfway across the ocean floor. The sea ponies could no longer live in their utopia. And since they had forgotten how to use the pearl, they could no longer go back on to the land.

In time, they were driven from their home by the creatures of the deep. The great city made of colorful coral and silver soon degraded. The coral turned white and the silver tarnished to black. All that was left was a single pink pearl surrounded by turning black and white spires that encased it like a swirling wave crashing on a beach.

It would be some time before I found the horn and even longer until another found the pearl. But Coltlantis still may have some secrets deep within the coral lattice.