Love on Land and Sea
Chapter 5
Meetings, Memories and Rebuilding
Pinkie and the land stallion didn't tear their eyes away from each other's own. From underwater in the pool, the other seaponies, particularly Rainbow Dash, were getting a bit impatient.
"Why doesn't she draw a picture of him?" She quietly complained. "It will last longer."
"Oh, hush." Rarity chided her, finding the little moment they were sharing rather adorable.
"You-you're a….mermare?" Cheese asked her, his voice cracking with nervousness and awe.
Pinkie shook her head with a bright smile. "Nope. I'm a seapony. Enormous difference. Observe." She hoisted her tail up. "No pointy fins on this tail."
Cheese only nodded mutely, his jaw still dropped by the beautiful creature in front of him.
"There's more of us, you know." Pinkie added.
The other seaponies down below her slapped their foreheads in unison.
"Did she have to say that?" Applejack muttered.
"Really?" Cheese asked.
Pinkie nodded. "Yup!" She then lowered her tail back into the water and turned back to the pool. "It's all right, girls. He won't bite."
Eventually, one by one, the other seaponies emerged from the water beside the pink one. Cheese stared at them with awe, all of them beautiful in their own way, but the pink seapony still was the most beautiful of them all, at least in his eyes.
The first one that showed herself was a purple seapony with a matching unicorn horn on her forehead, amethyst purple eyes, and a long wet indigo blue mane with violet and pink highlights. Her fin matched her coat, but it was a fluked tail instead of dorsal. Her cutie mark of a magenta star with five white smaller ones was on an extra indigo fin.
The second one was a cyan blue seapony with magenta eyes and a long, wet rainbow colored mane. Her fluked tail matched her coat and mane, and she had an extra purple fin that showed her cutie mark of a rainbow lightning bolt. She even had two see-through blue fins that looked like delicate wings. Pinned behind her right ear was a gold medallion of the Wonderbolts emblem.
The third one was an orange seapony with emerald green eyes, tiny white freckles on her cheeks, and a long wet blonde mane that was tied in a ponytail. Her dorsal tail matched her coat and mane, even down to being tied so that there was a hole in the middle, and she had an extra blonde fin on her tail that showed her cutie mark of three red apples. On her head was a beige Stetson hat, soaked with seawater.
The fourth one was a pale yellow seapony with teal green eyes and a long, wet, soft pink mane. Her fluked tail matched her coat and mane, and she had an extra rosy pink fin on her tail that showed her cutie mark of three pink butterflies. Also, like the seapony with the rainbow colored mane, she had two delicate fins that resembled wings.
Finally, the last one was a white seapony with a matching unicorn horn on her forehead, sapphire blue eyes, and a long wet but curled purple mane. Her fluked tail matched her coat and mane, and it even had four blue diamond studs which matched her cutie mark of three blue diamonds, which was on an extra fin on her tail.
"These are my friends." Pinkie began to introduce them. "This is Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy and Rarity." She pointed to each one respectively before pointing to herself. "Oh, and I'm Pinkie Pie."
Cheese felt his jaw drop again for the third time in the day. The gorgeous seapony in front of him was the same filly who had captured his interest when he was a colt, and the same one who had vanished ten years ago? And the other seaponies were the other fillies that went missing at the same time?
"Hello?" Rainbow asked, waving a hoof in front of the stunned stallion. "Anypony home?" Still not receiving a response, she splashed him with some of the pool water, snapping him out of his stupor.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." He said, shaking his head to get the water off.
"So, what's your name?" Pinkie asked him.
"Uh, Cheese Sandwich." He answered.
Pinkie smiled brightly at him. "Nice to meet you." She said. "And just so you know, we were the ones who saved you from that storm."
"Huh." Cheese said, faintly remembering the storm that he tried to avoid, but ended up getting caught in it. Then, he must've gotten knocked out.
Twilight studied him carefully. "Are you from Equestria?" She asked.
Cheese nodded. "Of course I am." He said. "Why would you ask?"
"It's been ten years since we had seen it." Twilight replied sadly. The other seaponies looked down at the water, looking downtrodden.
"I miss being able to fly." Rainbow said, remembering how much she loved flying and racing through the sky.
"I miss working on the land." Applejack added, memories of her and her family working on their land.
"And I miss all the designs and fashions ideas I had when I had four hooves." Rarity piped in, recalling all of the dreams she had when she was a filly.
"Wait a minute." Cheese said. "Are you telling me that you six have been underwater this whole time, and just today, you have come up to the surface?"
The Mane 6 nodded. "The queen doesn't like anyone coming up to the surface." Fluttershy explained.
"She's like an overprotective mother for all the seaponies." Rainbow added.
"Though it was very kind of her to take us in when we were lost at sea, she still doesn't allow anyone to leave Seaquestria." Rarity added.
"So the place you girls live is called Seaquestria?" Cheese asked.
"Yup." Pinkie confirmed.
"So, do you know anything about our families?" Fluttershy asked him. "It's been so long, we hardly remember them." Tears started to well up in her large teal eyes. The other girls started to softly shed tears.
Cheese shook his head. "I don't know much about your families personally." He said. "However, Twilight, do you remember a baby dragon that you started to raise before you left?"
Twilight nodded. "Yeah." She answered.
"Well, he just happens to be one of my closest friends." Cheese added.
"Really?" Twilight asked with a wide smile. "Spike is one of your friends?"
"Yup." Cheese confirmed. "He helps your brother, Captain Shining Armor, at the Royal Palace in Canterlot."
"Canterlot?" The girls all asked with wide eyes. "Really?"
Cheese nodded. "Well, since I'm late, I need to get back to Equestria. But my boat's at the bottom of the ocean."
Applejack started to think. "Well, maybe we can help you rebuild it." She suggested. "We can collect the timbers from the wreck and bring them back up. Then, we can help you rebuild it until it's as good as new."
"Great idea, Applejack!" Twilight exclaimed.
"But what's Queen Novo going to say?" Fluttershy asked. "She already doesn't know that Skystar snuck us up here. She might suspect that something's going on if we're continually disappearing to head up here. And who knows how long it will take to rebuild the boat?"
"I think that's a chance we're gonna have to take." Rainbow said firmly.
"Just because we can't return to Equestria doesn't mean that somepony else should suffer the same consequences!" Rarity proclaimed.
"Then it's settled." Twilight said, and then turned back to Cheese. "You'll stay here tonight. The storm should be over already. If not, then tomorrow. In the morning, we'll come for you so that we can bring you to the beach."
"That's good." Cheese said.
"But, what about Skystar?" Pinkie asked. "She would want to know about us helping Cheese."
For some reason, Cheese felt his face turn bright red, loving the way his name sounded from her mouth.
"I think we need to keep this from Skystar, too." Twilight said sadly.
"Why?" Pinkie questioned again. Out of all of them, she was the one closest to Skystar. She felt terrible about having to lie to her.
"She's already risking a punishment from her mom by sneaking us up here." Twilight began to explain. "I don't think we would want her to get into more trouble if she knew about us helping to rebuild a land dweller's boat."
"Good point." Pinkie said.
"Girls, we gotta get going now." Applejack said, looking down at the entrance to the ocean from the pool. "It'll be gettin' dark soon."
"See you in the morning, Cheese." Twilight said. One by one, the Mane 6 softly dove back into the water, swimming back out to the sea. Pinkie was the last one, pausing to look back at Cheese and give him a little wave goodbye. He returned it as she dove down, her tail rising up and then disappearing into the deep blue water.
Cheese finally felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders as he leaned back. He had just encountered the Lost Fillies, including the one who had captured his heart, and learned why they had never returned. He definitely needed to rest after this revelation.
The Mane 6 dove down back towards the cave to where Skystar is waiting for them. If she had nails instead of fins, she would have been biting them in nervousness. When she saw them, she let out a sigh of relief.
"Oh, girls!" She exclaimed, swimming over to meet them. "I was worried that you might have been swept away!"
"Nope, we're okay." Pinkie said. A bright and cheesy smile was on her muzzle.
Skystar grinned back. But it was quickly erased. "Come on." She whispered. "My mom would be wondering where we are."
The girls all nodded to her and they swam over to the royal pod, avoiding the guards that were circling around. Once they got inside, Skystar bade them good night and swam over to her chambers.
The Mane 6 quickly swam to the large room that they shared since they were fillies. Six beds carved out of giant clam shells all laid in rows against the walls, having a vanity and nightstand made out of coral and sea glass next to each one. The colorful blankets were all woven with sea grass and the pillows were made from colorful seaweed wrapped around cushions that the hippogriffs had brought down from Mount Aris long ago.
Rarity swam over to her vanity and began removing her makeup and necklace. Applejack took her hat and necklace off and put them on her nightstand. Rainbow removed the Wonderbolt pin from behind her ear and her own necklace and placed them on her own stand. Twilight, Pinkie and Fluttershy just removed their necklaces and just laid down in their beds.
Soon, the entrances kelp drapes of their room were pushed aside, and Queen Novo entered the room. "Good evening, ladies." She greeted.
The Mane 6 stopped what they were doing and faced the queen. "Good evening." They replied cordially.
"I hope you've had an enjoyable day." Novo said.
"It definitely was….interesting." Twilight decided to say.
Novo looked at her curiously. The other girls gave her a worried glance out of the corner of their eyes. Luckily, the queen only smiled.
"Well, it only makes you wonder what tomorrow will bring." She said simply. "Good night, girls."
"Good night, Your Majesty." The girls all said, bowing their heads in respect.
Novo chuckled. "After ten years of living with us, you have no need for such formalities." She said. "You're like my own daughters."
The girls smiled back at her. "Thank you, Queen Novo." They all said. With that, and a small smile, the queen left the room. As the girls started to get comfy in their beds, Twilight stared at the carving in the wall that served as a window.
Meeting Cheese brought back some thoughts that she pushed back in her mind for much too long. Faint memories started to appear. Herself as a young filly reading wonderful books on land, having four legs. Herself with her family, whose faces were blurry but were still there.
The other girls were having similar thoughts as they laid in their beds. Rainbow Dash remembered what it was like to have real wings and fly in the sky, feeling the wind in her mane. Applejack recalled all of the beautiful memories of herself playing with her siblings in her family's apple orchards. Fluttershy faintly saw land creatures leap all around in her mind's eye. Pinkie Pie saw all of the parties and fun that she had on the surface. And Rarity remembered all of the sketches that she had for dresses and outfits that were meant for ponies with back legs.
But then, they all started to recall a faint melody that had rang in their minds. The thing was, they only remember certain parts of the song. Twilight would always sing the first part, then it was AJ, then Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow, and then they would all sing the ending.
Twilight was humming the melody under her breath, and then the other mares' heads shot straight up.
"You know that song?" Applejack asked her.
Twilight nodded. "That was a song that my mom sang to me before that storm." She explained. "You know it, too?"
They all nodded. "But I only remember one part of it." AJ piped up.
"Me, too." Fluttershy added in. The others voiced their own confirmations.
The gears inside Twilight's head began slowly turning. "If we all know the same song, but only remember certain parts of it, then I think that it's a sign."
"A sign of what?" Rainbow asked.
"That we need to find our families, back in Equestria." Twilight said.
"But that means that we'll have to-" Fluttershy paused to gulp in nervousness, then whisper quietly. "Leave Seaquestria."
"Are you sure that we must leave?" Rarity asked.
"Yes." Twilight confirmed, nodding her head firmly. "And absolutely nopony must know of our plan."
"Not even Skystar?" Pinkie asked.
The purple seapony mare shook her head. "Not even Skystar." She said. "It's for her own good. If she knows, and if the Queen catches us, she'll not only put us in trouble, but also herself, for she was the one who brought us to the surface when we were not supposed to."
Pinkie still looked a little uneasy about having to continue to lie to Skystar, but eventually nodded her head in understanding.
Twilight smiled at her softly, before bringing all of her friends together. "Okay, then. Here's the plan."
Early the next morning, the Mane 6 were all wide awake and ready. They quietly and carefully swam out of the palace and went over to the secret entrance. After a few minutes of swimming upward, they were back up at the surface, the early breaches of dawn reaching the sky.
The girls all quietly watched in amazement as the sun slowly appeared from behind the horizon, coloring the velvet black sky and the thick gray clouds hues of blue, purple, orange and pink. It was definitely a sight worth seeing.
Soon, after the sun in its entirety climbed up and past the ocean line, the Mane 6 dove back down and headed over to the cove where Cheese was resting. When they reached the pool, they popped their heads out with loud splashes. Apparently, their sudden actions startled Cheese, for he yelped and jumped up when he saw them.
"Sorry." Pinkie apologized, smiling bashfully and feeling an embarrassed rush of heat build up inside her cheeks.
Cheese got over his surprise and rubbed the back of his head with his hoof, his own face flushing a slight red. "No need to apologize." He said.
The other girls looked at the nervous interaction, and then shared glances with each other. Rarity had a knowing grin on her face, and then one by one, the others caught on. Rainbow had to bite back a chuckle.
Pinkie caught their strange interaction. "What's so funny?" She asked.
"Nothing." Applejack teased, having a sly smirk on her face.
"So, what are you ladies doing back here so soon?" Cheese asked.
"Well, we said we were going to help you get back to Equestria." Rainbow Dash said. "And that's what we're going to do."
"Thanks, girls." Cheese said gratefully.
"On one other condition." Twilight came in, swimming closer to the land stallion.
"What's that?" Cheese asked. He heard stories of sailors making deals with mermares, and none of them went well. Well, these mares were technically seaponies, but who's to say?
"You take us back with you to Equestria." Twilight placed the proposition.
Cheese's eyes widened. "Really?" He asked. "What about your lives here?"
Twilight sadly shook her head. "We've been happy, but we want to know what happened to our families." She explained. "It's been far too long not getting any answers. We're not going to wait any longer."
Cheese thought about it for a few moments, glancing at each seapony mare. When his eyes landed on Pinkie, her eyes were pleading, making his heart beat faster and also breaking at the same time.
"Okay." He finally said. "I'll take all of you back to Equestria."
The Mane 6 all cheered happily, Rainbow even diving down and then jumping high out of the water, almost as if she were flying.
"Well now, let's get to work." Applejack said, steadying her wet Stetson on her head.
Cheese nodded. "I'll try to get some supplies here, along with some extra timber. You girls can try and salvage as much of the wreckage as you can."
"That might take weeks!" Rainbow said, thinking ahead and not too excited of the idea.
"Well, I guess we better get started." Twilight replied.
"It's all about your perspective." Cheese advised. "If you have a sour look at it, then it will take forever. If you face it with a smile, then you'll be through with it lickety-split!" After he said that, he then started to sing.
Cheese Sandwich: You stumble through your days.
Got your head hung low,
Your sky's a shade of grey.
Like a zombie in a maze,
You're asleep inside,
But you can shake awake.
He then started to do some fancy steps, and Pinkie was quickly mesmerized by the movements, wishing that she could dance like that. So that she and him can dance together.
'Cause you're just a dead colt walking,
Thinking that's your only option.
But you can flip the switch and brighten up your darkest day.
Sun is up and the color's blinding.
Take the world and redefine it.
Leave behind your narrow mind,
You'll never be the same.
Come alive, come alive.
Go and light your light.
Let it burn so bright.
Reaching up
To the sky,
And it's open wide.
You're electrified.
The rhythm of the song was pretty contagious, and the Mane 6 were moving their bodies to the beat as Cheese sang and danced.
When the world becomes a fantasy,
And you're more than you could ever be,
'Cause you're dreaming with your eyes wide open.
And you know you can't go back again
To the world that you were living in,
'Cause you're dreaming with your eyes wide open.
So, come alive!
With his encouragement, the Mane 6 all dove down to collect as much of the ship's wreckage as they could, while Cheese looked for some fresh supplies on land.
I see it in your eyes.
You believe that lie
That you need to keep on hiding.
Afraid to step outside,
So you lock the door.
But don't you stay that way!
The girls then started to sing along, one by one. Their excitement of seeing Equestria and possibly their families again was enough to get them so pumped up that they weren't even tired, even if they were working for hours. Some collected wreckage and brought it back up to the surface, while the others repaired with kelp ropes and some makeshift nails.
Fluttershy: No more living in those shadows.
You and me, we know how that goes.
Pinkie Pie: 'Cause once you see it, oh you'll never, never be the same.
Both: We will be the light that's turning.
Bottle up but keep on shining.
You can prove there's more to you.
Cheese: You cannot be afraid!
Then, all of them started to sing along.
All: Come alive, come alive.
Go and light your light.
Let it burn so bright.
Reaching up
To the sky,
And it's open wide
You're electrified.
When the world becomes a fantasy,
And you're more than you could ever be,
'Cause you're dreaming with your eyes wide open.
And we know we can't go back again
To the world that we were living in,
'Cause we're dreaming with our eyes wide open.
So, come alive!
As the days quickly turned to weeks, the repair of the ship soon became a routine. The Mane 6 would sneak away from Seaquestria as soon as they could, and then come up to the surface to help Cheese rebuild his boat. Then, at the end of the day, they would head back underwater, happy, excited and tired. Queen Novo and Princess Skystar were a little curious as to where they were disappearing to every day, but they both didn't pay much mind to it, noticing that the Mane 6 were always very tired when they came back to the palace for dinner.
Come one!
Come all!
Come in!
Come on!
Rainbow Dash: To anyone who's bursting with a dream.
Come one!
Come all!
You hear
The call!
Cheese: To anyone who's searching for a way to break free!
Mane 6: Break free!
Break free!
All: When the world becomes a fantasy,
And you're more than you could ever be,
'Cause you're dreaming with your eyes wide open.
And we know we can't go back again
To the world that we were living in,
'Cause we're dreaming with our eyes wide open.
Mane 6: Hey!
All: When the world becomes a fantasy,
And you're more than you could ever be,
'Cause you're dreaming with your eyes wide open.
And we know we can't go back again
To the world that we were living in,
'Cause we're dreaming with our eyes wide open.
'Cause we're dreaming with our eyes wide open.
So come alive! (Come alive!)
Finally, after about two weeks later, the boat was finished, new and improved for some more passengers.
Cheese wiped away some sweat from his brow. "Whew!" He exclaimed. "That wasn't too much of a chore."
"Even if it took two weeks?" Rainbow asked him.
"Nope!" He said cheerfully, making the cyan seapony mare roll her eyes, but there was a faint smile on her face.
"I think we can even set sail tomorrow at the earliest." Cheese proclaimed.
"Tomorrow?" Fluttershy asked, surprised of why so soon that they must leave.
"I've been away from home too long as it is." Cheese replied. "The sooner I get home, the sooner I can let my friends know that I'm okay, and the sooner you girls can come to Equestria."
"Sounds good enough for me." Rainbow said confidently.
"Uh, only one problem that we forgot to think about." Applejack cut in. She then lifted up her tail. "How the hay are we supposed to get to Equestria if we only have fins?"
The other girls slightly lifted up their own tails. "Didn't think that far." Twilight answered, realizing the little flaw in their plan.
"So that's it?" Pinkie asked, her voice almost wavering.
"All of our work for nothing?" Rarity added.
Fluttershy whimpered in sadness at the thought of the futility of the plan. The others all looked down with defeat.
But then, Twilight raised her head, her eyes gleaming with determination. "No." She said firmly. "We've come too far to give up now. We'll find a way."
The other girls looked at each other, feeling Twilight's determination pass to them, and then reciprocating it for each other. "We'll start packing some things, and try to find a way to get ourselves on land." Twilight ordered, and then turned to Cheese. "Keep an eye on the boat, and make sure that it is fully stable to set sail."
Cheese saluted her. "Aye-aye, ma'am." He said.
Twilight nodded at him confidently, and then dove into the sea with a splash, the other seaponies following her. Cheese watched their blurred colorful forms disappear back into the depths of the ocean. Hopefully, they can figure out a way to come with him back to Equestria.