//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Guppy Love // by PaulAsaran //------------------------------// The sound of splashing water jerked Applejack out of slumber. She sat up, wondering why she was in a chair and not her bed back at the beach house. Blinking groggily and rubbing her eyes, she cast a look at her strange surroundings. It took a second to identify them as the interior of that storage shed Fluttershy had shown her days ago. What was she doing—? Her gaze settled on a pale form in the nearby bathtub. In almost the same instant, a pair of brilliant blue eyes fell upon her. Everything came back to her in an instant, and for the moment she was frozen in place. What do I do? Oh, crud, what do I do? Luckily, her ‘guest’ appeared every bit as shocked as she felt. The mermaid, her face obscured by a few wet locks lingering over her eyes, stared back as if Applejack were a wonder beyond comprehension. Swallowing to moisten her throat, Applejack tried to find words. All she managed was a feeble wave and a “Uh… howdy?” The mermaid’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. She opened her mouth and… made sounds? It was only a couple syllables, but Applejack had to assume it was meant to be a word. At the same time, the mermaid shifted as if to lean forward. An instant later, she let out a sound that was easily recognizable as a cry of pain. She jerked about and grasped at her tail. “Whoa, careful!” Applejack started to stand, but the mermaid jerked away from her as if expecting an attack. She shouted a few more strange noises, pressing against the side of the tub and glaring. Glaring… but it wasn’t just anger in her sapphire eyes. Lovely sapphires that spoke of fear and alarm. But mostly fear. She barked a few more syllables, perhaps something to the tune of ‘Who are you?’ or ‘Why am I here?’ She grasped at her throat and winced but didn’t take her eyes off Applejack. Applejack wasn’t a diplomat and knew nothing about communicating in other languages. Yet even she knew that she needed to calm the mermaid down before something happened they’d both regret. So, very slowly, she lowered to her knees and held her hands up in what she hoped would be interpreted as a placating manner. “It’s alright, now. I ain’t gonna hurt ya none. I’m a friend. You’re safe. Okay?” The mermaid’s glare remained steadfast for a few seconds more, but then her eyes darted about. The ceiling, the floor, the walls. She glanced at the hole behind her, taking in the forest, then back to Applejack. She spoke a few more words in what Applejack assumed was her natural language, then glanced towards the door. She stared at it, or perhaps at the beach beyond. There came an unpleasant twist in Applejack’s heart. “Please, don’t try it.” When those hard blues came back her way, she carefully pointed. “Your tail. You’re hurt. I’m only trying to help.” The suspicion shifted to worry. The mermaid eyed her tail, running a hand along the bandages that, true to Fluttershy’s word, remained firmly in place. She tried to shift the tail, only to yelp and cringe, the same hand balling into a fist. When she opened her eyes again, the worry had only grown.  She whispered something to herself, and her voice was shaky. It was a lovely voice, Applejack thought. Even with the strange language, it sounded almost… what was the word? Cultured? Seeing as the mermaid appeared to have calmed down, Applejack dared to approach. She kept on her knees and moved slowly, her hands still raised. The pale girl noticed and once again pressed against the side of the tub, as if bracing herself. No longer did she display any distrust or anger; now there was naught but fear. “I’m gonna help you,” Applejack whispered, shuffling closer one knee at a time. “It’s okay. Don’t be afraid.” She was by the tub now, the water splashed out by the mermaid’s panicked motions soaking into her jeans. With one hand on the tub’s lip, she reached for the girl’s face. “Everything’s alright now. I promise.” Her fingers were so close. They shook with anticipation. How would the mermaid react? Those eyes, so lovely, bored into her own, as if pleading. Gently, Applejack moved the silky locks aside to get the full view of that soft, pale face. Wow. She’s even prettier with her eyes open. Her fingertip just brushed the girl’s cheek— The attack came so fast that Applejack didn’t realize what had happened until she was already on the floor, soaked and sputtering. The moment replayed in her mind; the girl had lunged forward, caught her by the shoulders, and thrown her sideways. Alarm coursed through her as she twisted to her side, fully expecting to see the mermaid’s tail disappearing through the doorway. What she saw instead was a truly pathetic sight. The mermaid was only a fifth of the way across the room, struggling to drag herself over the floor with only her arms. Her tail was limp save for a few frustrated flicks, each of which brought a new whimper out of the girl’s throat. Her hands clawed at the floor, struggling to support the weight of both her petite upper body and massive tail. She’d get maybe an inch of motion out of each attempt. At one point she raised her head and gave out a cry, though what the words meant were beyond Applejack’s understanding. Did she think she was a prisoner? That Applejack intended to do something horrible? Applejack had no idea how to convey otherwise. She climbed to her feet and went to kneel beside the girl. This only led to a redoubled effort, but it quickly grew clear that the mermaid lacked the upper body strength to complete the journey. She babbled more nonsense and made that same cry again. And again. And a third time, even louder than before. Then her voice cracked and she clutched at her throat as if in pain. The sight twisted another knife in Applejack’s heart. She placed a hand on the girl’s bare shoulder. “Hey. Come on. This isn’t helping. Please, let me take ya back to the tub.” She considered the idea of carrying her to the ocean as she so clearly wanted, but it seemed a mistake to her. Her tail was clearly too injured to be of any use, and how vulnerable would that make her in the open ocean? It might be what the girl wanted, but it might also condemn her to death. She tried to grasp the girl by the shoulders, but the mermaid jerked away as if stung. Holding her arms up against her chest in a defensive posture, she gazed up at Applejack with open horror. How the heck was she supposed to get her message across? Applejack pointed at the ocean through the door and shook her head. “No.” The mermaid appeared perplexed at first, but then thrust her own finger the same direction and nodded. Well, at least that seems to be a universal motion between us. Applejack shook her head. She laid a hand on the mermaid’s tail, right where the ‘dent’ in its shape was, and spoke with stronger emphasis. “No.” The mermaid stared at the apparent injury, then looked to the ocean. Then to the injury again. Perhaps she finally understood Applejack’s meaning, for her face fell once more and she sank to the floor. She made a whimpering sound and spoke words, the same words she’d been crying before. If only Applejack had an idea what she was saying! Settling to her knees once more, Applejack patted her shoulder, but the girl didn’t look up. Instead, she covered her head in both arms and continued to whimper. At a loss for what to do next and wishing Fluttershy were here, Applejack allowed herself a moment to examine the situation. This lasted all of two seconds before she noticed something odd about the mermaid’s back. Just beneath the shoulder blades were a trio of lines. No, a sextet, three on each side. Cautiously, she reached down to touch one, only to yelp and withdraw when the lines opened slightly at her touch. Gills! The mermaid had gills on her back! The mermaid raised her head to eye Applejack warily. She responded by displaying her open palms. “Sorry! Just, uh, just looking.” When the girl didn’t stop watching, she chanced pointing at the bathtub. “You wanna go back now?” The girl looked to the tub, then turned to stare at the beach solemnly. After a few quiet seconds, she heaved a sigh and tried to turn herself around with only her arms. Seeing that wasn’t going to work, Applejack reached down. “Here, I can—” The mermaid slapped her hand away with a scowl, then tried again. Miffed, Applejack stood and stepped back to watch. It was a feeble showing. Perhaps with the proper use of her tail she might have been able to turn around properly, but with it being little more than dead weight she was struggling just to turn around, and doing a lot of flinching and whimpering in the process. Applejack watched with increasing frustration, gritting her teeth every time the girl attempted to use her tail only to hiss or moan and refocus on just her arms. At last, Applejack huffed and knelt to the mermaid’s side once more. She reached down, only for the mermaid to try slapping her away again. Not this time; Applejack ignored the minor sting, forced her hands under the mermaid, and rolled her onto her back. It was much easier now that she was awake.  The girl protested loudly, waving her arms and offering what may very well have been curses. Ignoring them, Applejack set her hands beneath the mermaid again, using her squirming to wriggle them all the way beneath her waist and tail, then lifted with her legs. Trying this while the mermaid had been unconscious had been a complete failure. This time, the mermaid adjusted her weight with a squeak, working to stay in Applejack’s arms as she was lifted off the floor. Her arms clamped onto Applejack’s shoulders as she stared at the floor where the tip of her tail still dragged. “Now then,” Applejack said, catching the startled girl’s attention. “If you’re done being all ornery, I’ll put you back in the tub.” Her prize said nothing, only gaped at her as if amazed by Applejack’s strength. Which, come to think of it, may not have been too far off the mark; Applejack was a lot stronger than most full-grown men, and the mermaid was far heavier than your average girl. Seeing as she was getting no argument, Applejack walked back to the tub and, with great care, lowered the mermaid back into it. The mermaid said nothing, only continued to stare at Applejack as if not sure what to make of her. The water had gotten low thanks to all the moving about, so Applejack went to turn the pump on and used the water hose to start refilling it. The mermaid watched the liquid coming out as if wondering where it was coming from. Applejack watched her in turn. What to do next? Fluttershy had to work, and they both agreed that it was better for her to go than lie up some reason otherwise, and as such she wouldn’t be home for hours. If what she saw of the sunlight through the hole in the wall was any indication, it was still morning, if late. She needed to keep her new… ‘friend’… company until then. Well, no better place to start than proper introductions. “Applejack.” The mermaid tore her gaze from the water hose, her bright blue eyes meeting Applejack’s. She said a word that may have been a query. Applejack sat by the tub and placed a hand to her chest. “Applejack.” A moment’s nonplussed staring. Then the mermaid tilted her head and opened her mouth. The sound that came out wasn’t even close, and she promptly cringed and clutched her throat. Yes, that definitely looked painful. The mermaid huffed, then took a closer look at the water. Sliding so that her tail was further out of the tub, she leaned back to submerge herself entirely. Then she spoke, the words coming out strange and garbled. What the hay is she up to? And how did she do that? Applejack leaned over the tub to see those eyes locked on her. The mermaid’s slender hands emerged from the water and gestured in invitation. So she wants me to… what? Join her in the tub? Her cheeks burned at the thought. She’s probably the prettiest girl I ever did see, but it’s way too early for that. I should at least buy her dinner first. Recognizing her reluctance, the mermaid gestured to her throat, then to her own… ears? Fins? Earfins? Whatever they were. Then she once again made the inviting motion with her hands. Except this time she moved them close to Applejack’s face. Not sure if it was what the girl wanted, Applejack leaned down so her head was in the water and her ears submerged. The angle wasn’t very comfortable; the tub was too tall and she had to lean hard against the lip. Plus, her face was at the level of the mermaid’s collarbone, her nose not quite touching the skin. What really caught Applejack’s attention, however, was how the tail seemed to glimmer, as if covered in miniscule gems. What kind of an effect was that? “Ap… ple… jack?” Applejack jerked her head to look up at the mermaid’s face, which only made her posture even more uncomfortable. The mermaid tilted her head down – relatively – to make eye contact. Her lips moved, and the name came out as smooth and clear as if they were above water. “Applejack?” A spark of understanding lit up in Applejack’s heart, and she promptly pulled her head out of the water. The mermaid followed suit, watching her uncertainly. “Yes! Applejack. That’s my name!” She patted her chest again. “Applejack.” Then she gestured to the mermaid. Catching her meaning, the mermaid frowned as if in consideration. After several seconds, she once again submerged, and Applejack hurried to follow suit. “Reh-reh-tzee.” Out came Applejack. Out came the mermaid. “Rarity?” The mermaid shook her head and went under again. Applejack followed. “Reh-reh-tzee.” Out they came again. “Yeah, Rarity. That’s what I said.” Rarity pouted at her, shoulders hunched. She muttered something Applejack didn’t catch under her breath, not that Applejack would have understood it anyway. “Well, I think it’s a lovely name. Don’t you fret none, Rarity.” Rarity threw up her hands in exasperation, splashing water around as she did, then crossed them over her bare chest and sat back with a glower. She had the cutest pouty face, hands down. Applejack could only smile. Maybe they’d be able to communicate faster than she’d thought. “Oh, she’s awake.” Applejack looked up from what Rarity was drawing in the sand with a stick. Fluttershy stood in the doorframe of the shed, a picnic basket held in one arm and a couple shopping bags in the other. The girl stared at Rarity with unabashed wonder and curiosity. “Howdy, Shy. Yeah, we’ve been at it all day.” Then, remembering her manners, she gestured with a palm at the mermaid. “Fluttershy, meet Rarity.” Rarity had paused in her work to stare at Fluttershy warily, clutching the stick close to her chest. She broke her scrutiny only to cast a critical look at Applejack and mutter, “Vra-vra-kee.” She promptly grimaced and rubbed her throat. The bags and picnic basket dropped as Fluttershy gaped. “She can talk! This is amazing.” She flinched as Rarity, startled, retreated backwards in her bathtub and lowered down as if the porcelain might protect her. She peered out of the water with narrowed eyes. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m just excited.” “It’s alright, sugarcube.” Applejack turned to Rarity and offered her hand. “It’s okay. Fluttershy is a friend. It’s safe.” The mermaid looked to her, then back to Fluttershy. She made no move to leave the protection of her chipped, grey wall, even though the position had to be uncomfortable. The tub was deep, but nowhere near deep enough for Rarity to move around in without her tail sliding in and out from her movements. “Oh, Fluttershy, you’re such a blabbermouth.” With that bit of self-recrimination, Fluttershy picked her items back up and brought them forward. The bags, Applejack noted, had more medical supplies. “I brought some food. Didn’t know if either of you had any lunch. I, um…” She blushed as she carefully opened the basket. “I have no idea what you eat, Rarity. I hope fish and bread is okay.” She produced some fish sandwiches Applejack recognized from a small diner on the mainland, close to the boat launch. Applejack’s stomach grumbled its eagerness, reminding her that, no, she hadn’t had anything to eat today. She’d been so entranced with trying to communicate with Rarity that she’d completely forgotten. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. Here, let me have one so I can show her what’s going on.” At Fluttershy’s curious look, she elaborated, “You were right last night. She can speak but doesn’t know our language.” Taking an offered sandwich in both hands, she added, “Also, it seems like her vocal cords only work properly when underwater. She can still make sounds, but they’re not the ‘right’ sounds.” Explanation done, Applejack turned to Rarity and made a deliberate showing of taking a big bite out of her sandwich. Rarity watched this with blatant curiosity, cocking her head and keeping her hands on the lip of the tub. She rose up slowly, her upper tail sliding into the water as she did. Her attention shifted to the basket. She said something that Applejack guessed was an inquiry. Fluttershy offered her a sandwich. Backing away, Rarity eyeballed the pink-haired girl as if expecting some sort of trick. Gradually, she reached a hand out, but paused. Her curious eyes went to Applejack, then she shifted in the tub and used both hands, grabbing the sandwich as if it might break from her touch. Her eyebrows shot up at the soft texture of the bread, and instead of eating it she peeled a piece up to examine its underside. “What’s she doing?” Applejack asked after swallowing a bite. “I don’t think they have bread where she’s from,” Fluttershy replied with a light smile. “Hard to bake underwater, right?” That made sense, or so Applejack supposed. Eventually, Rarity took the risk and bit into the sandwich. Her eyes lit up in wonder, then narrowed in uncertainty. She spent a few seconds just rolling the bite in her mouth. Settling back in the tub, she took a cautious second bite, this time getting more of the fish. With a hum, she gave them both a smile and started eating in earnest. “Oh, thank goodness.” Fluttershy set a hand to her chest and exhaled. “I thought she might be omnivorous like us since she has the same teeth, but I couldn’t be sure until she tried it.” She shuffled forward, only to pause when Applejack threw a hand up to stop her. “Careful.” She pointed at the pile of sand that was now resting beside the tub, the image Rarity had been making in it marred by earlier splashes of water. “I brought the sand in here to use for talking with her. When we can’t get what we want to say across with sounds and charades, we draw pictures.” Fluttershy nodded enthusiastically, beaming as she did. “That’s a wonderful idea! I’ll be careful not to scatter it, then.” She minded her own words by moving sideways, situating herself close to where Rarity’s tail rested on the chair at the foot of the tub. Catching the mermaid’s attention, she set a hand to her chest. “Fluttershy.” The mermaid nodded, then ducked under the water, her tail sliding out proportionally with the motion. This was met with confusion from Fluttershy until Applejack suggested she stick her head underwater. A moment later Fluttershy emerged with a gasp and a grin. “That’s amazing! She can speak so clearly down there.” Rarity popped up from the tub, looking disappointed at her now waterlogged sandwich. The bread was falling apart in her hands. The pieces now floating in the water with her earned a particularly unpleasant look. Chuckling, Applejack scooped the bits out with her hands, depositing them in a corner. She figured she’d throw them in the forest later for the bugs to eat. The fish patty remained intact though, and Rarity had no qualms about finish it off. When Fluttershy offered her a second, fresh sandwich, she took it with visible eagerness. “So,” Fluttershy said as the mermaid delighted in her meal, “what have you two learned about each other?” Sitting back in her seat, Applejack watched Rarity’s dainty eating with a smile. “Well, I don’t think she can write. Might not even understand the concept. I tried showing her some of our alphabet, but it was like she had no idea what the symbols were for.” Fluttershy nodded. “Maybe we can teach her in time?” “Maybe. Still don’t know what attacked her. Tried drawing a picture of a shark, but she just shook her pretty head. Signaled it was something bigger. She was just about to try drawing it for me when you showed up.” “In that case…” Fluttershy bent down, sweeping the barely-begun drawing with her hand and using her finger to do her own quick sketch. It was a surprisingly good one, reminding Applejack that Fluttershy had spent a lot of time on these beaches, but she still wasn’t quite sure what she was looking at. “Rarity? Is this what attacked you?” Pausing with her half-eaten sandwich, Rarity noted where Fluttershy was pointing and ‘sat up’, as much as she could with her body, to take a look. Recognition came to her eyes, and fear. She nodded demurely and said something that sounded like “cor-cro”, then pointed out to the ocean through the door. Fluttershy nodded grimly. “Orca. Or killer whale, a sad moniker, but distressingly fitting at times. They usually hunt in packs.” She cast a sober look at Applejack. “They tend to play with their food. Like cats.” Applejack knew of them and had an idea of their size. The image of something that large chasing after her in the water was frightening, but a whole bunch of them? She shuddered. Rarity hurried to finish her sandwich, then made a sweeping gesture with her hand. Getting the now-familiar message, Applejack bent over and swept the image of the orca away. Grasping the stick once more, Rarity began to make another crude drawing. First, she drew a stick figure with a long, curvy bottom. A representation of herself? Then she drew three blobs that vaguely reminded Applejack of Fluttershy’s drawing of the orca. Then a long line with many curves – the beach? – and a second line from the figure of herself to the other side of the squiggly line. Fluttershy nodded. “The orca pod forced her to beach herself or be killed.” “Makes sense.” Knowing Rarity probably wouldn’t understand, Applejack nonetheless pointed to the bandage on her tail and said, “And that is why I wouldn’t let you run back to the ocean when you first woke up. If you barely got away with your tail intact, you sure as hay can’t get away from them now.” Rarity eyed her tail, then Applejack. It was hard to tell if she understood what was being said or not. She waved away the words and began to draw something else behind the blobby orcas that had apparently been chasing her. It was another stick figure mermaid, only much smaller. What on earth was that supposed to indicate? Fluttershy gasped. “It’s a younger mermaid! A sister? A daughter?” Fluttershy leaned against the tub in earnest, pointed at the smaller mermaid figure, then pointed at the ocean. With visible fear, Rarity nodded. “Oh, my goodness. You were being the distraction, weren’t you? So the little one could escape.” Fluttershy turned her gaze to Applejack. “Her friend must still be out there.” Rarity said something, and it sounded a lot like the word she’d been crying back when she’d tried to escape. A feeling of dread rushed through Applejack as she realized it had been the name of this other mermaid. “Sweetie Belle?” Rarity looked to her, nodded, and pointed at the ocean again. There was a pleading desperation in her eyes, something that had always been there but kept just under the surface until now. “Applejack, we have to find her friend.” Fluttershy looked to the door, lip trembling. “She could be hurt.” This required a bit of consideration. Applejack knew she’d heard a lot of splashes last night, suggesting that something was close in the shallows. Maybe Rarity’s friend/sibling/daughter, maybe not. But if it was… “I got an idea. We can bring Rarity to the water, let her go just deep enough to call out for her.” Fluttershy frowned in thought. “Sound does travel farther in water. But what if she’s not nearby?” “If I’m right, then she will be.” She eyed Rarity, who watched them both while twisting the stick in her hands. “But we should keep a good hold on her. She might try to head out on her own, and letting her do that could be as good as killing her.” Apparently recognizing the truth in that statement, Fluttershy offered no argument. She stood and grabbed the grocery bags full of medical kits. “Can you bring her or do you need help?” “I’ve got her.” Applejack turned to Rarity and mimed picking something up with both arms. Rarity eyed her uncertainly, then pointed with the stick out the door. At Applejack’s nod, she gasped, dropped the stick, and worked to position herself so her body floated higher in the tub. This proved more than enough to allow Applejack to get her arms under her and lift her up, just as she had before. “Alright, missy. Let’s see if we can’t get the kid.” Fluttershy hurried ahead to make sure the coast was clear before calling them out. They stepped into the warm sunlight, Rarity shielding her eyes from the glare and Applejack squinting against it. It was a bright day with sparse, wispy cloud coverage. The ocean spread wide before them, a gargantuan landscape of blue. It was enough to remind Applejack that, should her hunch be wrong, there was a lot of room for a small mermaid to hide. Sand squishing between her toes, she moved slowly to ensure the rushing waves didn’t knock her off balance. Once it was up to her knees, she bent her legs and sat down. Rarity, her arm wrapped around Applejack’s shoulder, gave her a curious look. Fluttershy, knee-deep in the water herself, spoke. “Rarity?” Once she had the mermaid’s attention, she cupped a hand to her mouth as if to shout but spoke in a normal voice. “Call her.” Getting the gist, the mermaid promptly let go of Applejack and twisted around so she was belly-down in the water. Applejack kept her hands on Rarity’s scaled hips, but only gently. With her tail ruined as it was, she doubted Rarity could go anywhere quickly, even in her home environment. The water was deep enough that Rarity could submerge herself entirely, and she did. Applejack watched with wonder as the six gills on the mermaid’s back began to open and close in a slow rhythm. She began to call, the sound garbled by the rushing waves. Applejack watched, tense and uncertain. If this didn’t work, they might never find this other mermaid. Worse, it might mean she wasn’t out there to be found. Had Rarity been trying to tell her about this the whole time? They’d been ‘talking’ for a good four hours by the time Fluttershy came back from work. All that time, Rarity must have been fighting back a near panic. But she didn’t know if Rarity had been trying to tell her. It was clear that she’d been worried, but… maybe after that initial surge of energy she’d realized there was nothing she could do. They’d spent most of the day just trying to find a semi-reliable way to talk to one another. Maybe Rarity hadn’t tried until just then because she couldn’t think of a way to do so. Rarity kept calling. The ocean kept moving. Applejack kept feeling terrible. She needed a distraction. Her eyes went to Fluttershy, who was clutching her bags of medical supplies to her chest and staring at the ocean. “So, uh, Rainbow?” A quick glance, then back to watching the ocean. “I called her. She’ll be here tomorrow morning.” “Tomorrow?” Applejack adjusted her hold on Rarity to get more comfortable. She was still calling, her voice sounding a little louder through the rushing water. “Isn’t that a kinda slow? If Rarity’s tail is broke, we need to set it as soon as we can.” Fluttershy shook her head. “I had to keep it casual. It couldn't sound like an emergency. If Rainbow thought there was trouble, she’d skip today’s game and come here right away. No way she could hide that. She also has to go to my place to get the machine. Mom knows Rainbow’s schedule, she’s that kind of person. Rainbow missing a game would suggest to her that something’s wrong. And then?” “She’d come here.” Applejack heaved a sigh. “But not before calling Granny, and next thing we know we’re invaded by the grown-ups.” “And we want as few people involved in this as possible,” Fluttershy concluded with a sharp nod. “Tomorrow morning’s the best we can do.” “Tomorrow, then.” Applejack didn’t like it, but the reasoning was sound. She just hoped Rarity wouldn’t suffer for it. “How much did you tell her?” “Not much,” Fluttershy admitted. “She wouldn't believe me if I told the truth. Now I know how you felt last night. I’m—” Rarity jerked. Not as if to get away, but as if in reaction to something. The two girls looked out to the ocean but could see nothing. Even so, Rarity began to shout something other than the name she’d been repeating all this time. Was there something under the water, then? “Applejack.” Fluttershy pointed. It took her a second to see what she had. Roughly a hundred feet out, something moved slowly through the water. It was a mess of pink… or purple? Both, there were two colors. They rose, revealing a pale forehead and a pair of eyes watching them. Rarity was waving to their strange visitor. The head disappeared under the waves. Applejack blinked, peered, could see nothing. “Where did it—?” The water exploded! Applejack barely had time to yelp before a white and pink missile smashed into her chest and sent her toppling into the water. Despite being submerged and having water rush up her nose, she instinctively grabbed the thrashing thing on top of her and lifted it off. It was surprisingly light, for all its squirming and punching. Ineffectually, at that; the immediate attack had hit hard, but now it was like being slapped at by a child. She sat up in the water with a gasp, blinked the wetness away, and saw that she wasn’t far off the mark. Her assailant was a mermaid who, if her appearance was anything to guess by, was no more than twelve. To her surprise, the child spoke in broken English. “Away! Away! Leave! Mine!” Between her words were bits of whatever language she and Rarity shared, completely indecipherable. A long, pinkish-purple tail thrashed, spraying water everywhere. Fluttershy’s voice rose through the cacophony of splashes. “Applejack!” “I’m okay!” A stinging slap caught her cheek. “Well, okay-ish.” After a bit of work, she managed to catch the child’s skinny arms. “Calm down, would ya? Fluttershy, get Rarity over here!” “Mine! No hurt! Leave!” The girl twisted and shook but couldn’t break free of Applejack’s grip. Her little face was twisted with frustration. “Let go!” Her tail gave a mighty flap that propelled her forward with enough force to nearly knock Applejack onto her back again. “Whoa!” Applejack struggled to keep her balance, her hold on one of the child’s wrists slipping. “A little help?” Two arms wrapped around the child’s shoulders, and Rarity was there, whispering into her fin-ear in that strange language. She was perfectly calm, and as she spoke the child gradually slowed her struggles. Once sure she wasn’t going to be the victim of anymore slaps, Applejack let go and scooted back, leaving the two to their reunion. Fluttershy knelt by her, worry plain on her face. “Are you alright?” “Y-yeah.” A deep breath and a moment to blow out the water in her nose, then Applejack grinned up at her. “Just a little winded, that’s all.” She watched as Rarity spoke to her… sister? Just looking at their respective sizes, she would have guessed a significant age gap existed between the two of them, yet not enough to suggest they were mother and daughter. The child lacked the elder’s tall, refined features, instead sporting chubby cheeks and a stockier build, though not by much. Her eyes were a pale green, a little brighter than Rarity’s deep blues. “What do you think? Sisters?” Fluttershy fussed over Applejack face, only casting the two mermaids a quick glance. “Maybe. Are you sure you’re okay?” “Am I bruised?” “A little.” After taking a moment to feel at her cheek and acknowledging its soreness, Applejack shrugged. “I once took a direct kick from a goat. This is nothing. I’ll be fine.” By now Rarity had managed to turn her friend around and speak to her face-to-face. If Applejack was interpreting the younger mermaid’s motions correctly, she was trying to convince her to go back to the open ocean. Rarity, looking – sad? Afraid? Certainly anxious – shook her head and said something that was likely a denial. Her friend shouted and pointed accusingly at the two humans watching the scene. “I don’t think she trusts us,” Fluttershy noted. “What do we do?” Perhaps she was putting too much faith in someone she’d known less than twenty-four hours, but Applejack replied, “Let Rarity handle it.” The child’s head swiveled her way at Rarity’s name, suspicion and anger blatant in her glare. She abruptly grabbed Rarity in a tight hug, pinning the elder mermaid’s arms. It was like she was trying to shield her. She didn’t say a word, only continued to shoot daggers with her eyes, silently daring either of them to approach. Rarity rolled her eyes and fell back into the water, making the child cry out. Applejack started to stand, half-expecting them to disappear forever beneath the waves, but relaxed upon realizing the water was too shallow to hide both of them. Curious, she leaned forward to a crawling position and ducked her head in the water. Rarity’s lovely voice came to her in that odd language, soothing and patient. “What are you doing?” Fluttershy asked when she surfaced again. “Listening.” Sitting up properly, Applejack shoved her ponytail back over her shoulder and shook her head to rid it of water. “Not that I can understand much.” The two of them waited for a while, watching as the younger mermaid’s pink tail swished and swayed in the water. Rarity’s longer, darker purple tail occasionally appeared, but only when the waves got particularly low. After several minutes of this, the two finally resurfaced. Rarity had the hunched posture of a woman uncertain if she was making the right decision, whereas the child merely watched the two humans with a scowl. Rather than speak, Rarity gestured her desire to return to shore. She also pointed to her friend and indicated that she was to come along. Applejack stood up, dripping saltwater, and eyed the two of them. The little one was maybe a third Rarity’s overall size. She looked to Fluttershy. “Any chance you could, uh…?” “I c-can try.” Fluttershy’s tone made it clear she doubted her ability to do what was being asked of her. Even so, they approached the two mermaids. It dawned upon Applejack the sheer impossibility of that idea; they’d somehow managed to find two of them in less than a day? “Nobody’s ever gonna believe this,” she muttered. Very aware of the child’s suspecting glower, she bent at the knees to collect Rarity. The mermaid assisted this time, reaching up to wrap her slender arms around her shoulders and bending at the waist to accommodate her. They were up and moving back to the beach, Rarity indicating she wanted to be dropped in the sand. Applejack raised an eyebrow, then jutted her chin at the shed, but Rarity shook her head and pointed down. Applejack didn’t like it – who knew when someone taking a leisurely stroll on the beach might show up? – but obliged. Her friend, it seemed, wasn’t willing to be carried the same way. Fluttershy came stumbling up, the child riding her back and holding on to her shoulders. Fluttershy had to hold her tail under one arm while the other tried to offer some support that Applejack doubted was proving very helpful. The poor girl was visibly struggling, so Applejack moved to help… only for the little mermaid to ward her off with a vicious snarl. Rarity barked something, and the child hunched down as if stung. When Applejack approached this time, she didn’t fight back, though she made it clear by her expression that she didn’t approve. Regardless, both mermaids were on the beach soon enough, and poor Fluttershy sat in the sand panting and rubbing her arms. Rarity was busy drawing in the sand with her finger. Applejack shuffled away from the still-glaring Sweetie and watched as the elder mermaid drew a few blobs that she quickly recognized as intended to be orcas, then a few more things that might have been sharks and other aquatic threats. Next, she drew two stick-figure mermaids, the larger interposed between the smaller one and the other creatures. She looked to Applejack hopefully. Applejack nodded. “You’ve been protecting her from the dangers.” Appearing confused, Rarity looked to her friend. The smaller mermaid muttered something, prompting her to nod in turn. Rarity ran a delicate hand along her wounded tail, then brushed away the larger mermaid figure from the sand. “And now you can’t protect her anymore,” Fluttershy translated breathlessly. Perhaps assuming her message came across, Rarity began to draw again. This time it looked like… her and her friend in two bathtubs? She looked to them, her eyes pleading and ignoring her companion’s muttered complaints. Applejack shared a nervous glance with Fluttershy. “You don’t happen to have another of them tubs around we can move over here, do ya?” “No.” Crossing her arms, Fluttershy picked at her sleeve as she stared at the drawing with hunched shoulders. “And we can’t bring her friend back to the beach house. Someone’s bound to notice.” That they would. Applejack raked her brain for an alternative. “Could we maybe fill one of the aquarium’s pools for both of them?” Fluttershy shook her head. “The aquarium’s pools are five decades old, and two of those decades were with no maintenance at all. I doubt they’d hold water. And even if they did, that little pump would take forever to fill one. It’s not meant for that kind of use.” While Applejack saw her point, she didn’t think it was enough to disqualify the pools. Maybe if they could get a bigger pump attached down at the pond… “Oh! The pond. It should be big enough, right?” Fluttershy blinked owlishly. She looked to the mermaids. The child was examining the elder’s injured tail, her expression crestfallen as Rarity tried to focus on the two humans deciding her fate. “It’s certainly big enough, yes. It’s nice. Scenic. Isolated. But people sometimes visit it. We’d risk them being seen.” “It’s a big pond. Almost a lake.” Applejack dropped to one knee and started drawing in the sand. “These two are clearly survivors. If they’ve got some places to hide underwater, they should be fine.” At least, she hoped as much. It would certainly be faster than trying to refill an ancient pool. Maybe repairing a pool could come later, if the pond didn’t work out. This could buy them time. With Fluttershy’s help, she finished a small map of the island in the sand, complete with the pond in the middle. Through a variety of gestures and a few false starts, they conveyed their intentions. Once they had the right idea, Rarity and her friend huddled together and discussed the situation in hushed voices. Applejack wasn’t sure why they were being so quiet, it wasn’t as though they could understand their alien language. After several minutes of deliberation, the two mermaids turned to them. They sat in a manner that seemed to Applejack the equivalent of her sitting on her knees, with their upper tails folded neatly beneath them while the lower parts lay loose behind them. Rarity’s manner was one of defeat or, perhaps, grim acceptance, with her head bowed and her hands folded in her ‘lap’, right on top of her wound. The child, however, gave the two humans a commanding scowl. Thus it was no surprise when it was the child who spoke. “Safe.” She gestured to herself, then to Rarity. “Safe.” It was very clearly a condition. One the child had no way of enforcing, but Applejack resolved to treat it seriously. She got to her knees, Fluttershy following suite, and declared, clearly, “Safe.” Fluttershy nodded and said, with far more sweetness, “Safe. We promise.” The child scrutinized them through narrowed eyes for some time, her lips pouty and her cheeks puffed up. It was actually kind of cute, not that Applejack had any intention of letting that be known. At last, the child nodded. She turned to her elder and muttered in her ear. Rarity, despite maintaining her timid posture, snapped something just as quiet but far sharper. Whatever it was, it made the younger mermaid grimace and turn away, crossing her arms and huffing. That exchange over, Rarity kept her head down and pointed to the pond in the sand. “I guess that means we’re going,” Fluttershy said, standing. “How are we going to bring both of them at once?” “I can do it,” Applejack said, taking a moment to stretch her arms before also getting up. “Rarity’s not so heavy when she’s cooperative. The kid can’t be that much worse.” “Are you sure? I can try to carry the little one.” “Nnnope.” A few more stretches, this time with her legs, helped Applejack prepare for the task ahead. “I got this, don’t you worry none.”