Back at the main hallway of the aquarium, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Pinkie Pie are sitting by themselves by the front door. “What time is it?” Rainbow asked.
“It’s almost eleven o’clock.” Applejack looking at her phone.
“Well we can’t just sit here and do nothing.” Rarity painting her nails.
“Face it Rarity,” Rainbow retorted. “If we can’t fix this, we might as well drive back home.”
“You’re thinking the same, Pinkie?” Applejack wondered.
Pinkie Pie is hugging a balloon with a drawing of Fluttershy’s face. “No!” She cried. “The birthday girl deserves so much better than this!”
The others placed their hands on their forehead. “I guess not.”
“Well, if you need me,” Rainbow standing up. “I’m gonna go check on Fluttershy. She can’t stay here forever.” As the athlete went to find Fluttershy, she entered the Eagle Ray section of the aquarium. “Fluttershy?”
She didn’t hear a response whatsoever, as if her friend is lost and alone, without anyone to cheer her up. Instead, she saw Marline in the other room. “Hey Marline!” Rainbow called.
Marline looked away from the seahorses and put her attention on Rainbow while blocking her pearl with her hand. “Yes Rainbow?” She asked.
“Have you seen Fluttershy?”
“No I haven’t.”
Rainbow placed her hands on her hips while looking at the celine. “I need to remind her that we’re leaving soon.”
This caused Marline to flinch. “Wait, you mean, you’re not going to celebrate her birthday here?”
“We don’t have any choice Marline, it’s better if we head home and wait for Twilight and Sunset to turn back to normal.”
Marline has already found the pearl that Rainbow’s friends need, but after talking to several animals, she wants to hang on to it for a little longer. “Actually.” She stopped Rainbow from leaving. “Sunset told me that a piece of pearl is somewhere inside or outside of the Aris Aquarium. It can change her and Twilight back to normal and stop the weather!”
“Seriously!?” Rainbow smiled. “Okay, I’ll go find it while you tell my friends about it.” As Rainbow passed by Marline to find the pearl, Marline felt relief. She let go of the pearl around her neck, happy that Rainbow didn’t see it.
“Oh yes, now I can keep using this for a little-”
“Marline?” Rainbow blinked while looking through her reflection from the sea turtle tank. Even in a far distance, she can still see the pearl around Marline’s neck. She turned around and saw the piece of the pearl. “Is that the pearl you’re talking about?”
Marline felt nervous, when she’s caught immediately. “Yes.”
“And you already found it?”
“Yes...”
“Then why didn’t you show this to Sunset?”
The tour guide sighed, with nothing to hide from Fluttershy’s closest friend. “Because...with it on, I have the ability...to talk to sea creatures.”
Upon hearing the truth, Rainbow rolled her eyes while trying to be nice. For so many months of dealing with Equestrian Magic, this isn’t as horrible from before. “Marline, I’m not trying to be rude, but if you don’t give Sunset that pearl, there won’t be any dolphin show tonight. How long did you use that pearl?”
“Umm...almost an hour?”
“An hour? You can’t be serious.” Rainbow raising an eyebrow.
“But this is the first time I’m talking to sea creatures and they want to be released into the ocean!”
“Okay, give it to me now!” Rainbow lifting her hand out. “Otherwise the COO will find out about this.”
Marline backed away from the athlete until she bumped into a tank behind her. “Please, I won’t be able to have this dream come true again!”
“There’s no other option. We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”
As Rainbow got closer, she got blind from a sudden flash. Marline saw the pearl glowing with sparkles coming out. It shoots a laser on Rainbow with a massive transformation, similar to what Twilight and Sunset went through last night.
“Girls!” Rainbow called with Rarity and the others immediately took notice. “I need some help here!”
Three of the Rainbooms stand up and rush to the room where Rainbow is at. “What’s going on?” Applejack called.
“Yeah, what seems to be the-” Once they entered the room, they saw the athletic girl on the ground. However she doesn’t have her legs and instead, a light blue tail, similar to what Twilight and Sunset have.
“Rainbow Dash?”
“Did you just turn yourself into a mermaid like Twilight and Sunset?” Pinkie asked, noticing the tail.
Rainbow became speechless on what just happened to her after the transformation. “And you were inside the whole time, so how did the rain transform you?” Rarity blinked.
“It didn’t.” Rainbow exclaimed, while laying on the ground, being unable to stand with the tail. “Marline has the pearl.”
“What pearl?” Applejack wondered.
“It can actually turn people back to normal...and also turn them into mermaids.”
“Really!?” Pinkie squealed. “So where is it? I want to be a mermaid too!”
“Oh yeah. We would love to be mermaids, if I actually had the pearl!” Rainbow acting rhetorically.
Behind one of the free-standing tanks in the room, Marline is hiding after the blast her pearl just caused. She’s lucky Rainbow didn’t get her, but it won’t last much longer. She looked at her pearl, shocked it also has the power to change anyone into mermaids.
“So where is she? Did you already see her with the pearl?” Rarity asked.
“All I remember is that after I transformed, she disappeared.” Rainbow placed her hand on her cheek. “The only thing we can do is find her. I can tell she desperately wants to talk to more sea creatures.” They gave her friends a confused look.
“You mean...like what Fluttershy does?”
“Like she’s a mind reader!?” Pinkie added.
“All I know is that she’s about to release all the sea creatures into the sea if we don’t find her. She’s officially losing it!”
Marline shot her eyes open, knowing she’s in serious trouble if someone stops her. “Relax, we’re going to find her and talk sense with her, but you can’t just lay here like this.” Applejack lifting Rainbow up. “I’m not an expert but I still know fishes need water to live.”
“Okay...so how am I supposed to be inside those aquarium tanks?” She pointed.
When the Rainbooms looked at the tank itself with tons of fishes, they realized they’re not allowed in the restricted areas in the Aris Aquarium.
“Fluttershy still has her backstage pass.” Pinkie remembered. “Let’s go find her!”
“Perfect!” Rarity smiled.
“Oh no!” Marline blurted out, which caught the Rainbooms attention.
“There she is!” Rainbow shouted.
Without thinking straight, Marline used her pearl on the Rainbooms, and another transformation occurred.
Silverstream, Skystar and Spike are at the other side of the aquarium, trying to find the pearl before it’s too late.
“Have you found it Spike?” Skystar spoke as the dog looked under the display tables for people to sit at.
“No I haven’t.” He responded. “We’ve been looking everywhere.”
“Well we can’t just give up!” Silverstream looked through one of the tanks. “We have to find it before the Dolphin show tonight.”
“Well…technically it’s canceled at the moment.”
“That still means the show must go on!”
As the two girls continue to find the pearl, Spike enters another room where more jellyfish are kept. Just when he’s about to check inside the tank, he stopped himself. Inside the room with the pink colors emanating from the jellyfish, the puppy saw the birthday girl, sitting all alone on the ground with nothing to celebrate.
“Fluttershy?” Spike spoke which caused Fluttershy to lift her head up. Upon looking at the dog, she had no response. Her heart remains the same as before, only with more emptiness than ever.
Soon Silverstream and Skystar went inside the jellyfish room and noticed Fluttershy all by herself. “Fluttershy?” Skystar looking at the sad birthday girl.
“How long have you been sitting here?” Silverstream added.
Fluttershy looked at her watch to see what time it was. “For about six hours.”
“Six hours!?” Silverstream, Skystar and Spike reacted.
“You didn’t even bother to eat anything since you woke up?” Spike said, in shock.
“I didn’t feel like it, okay! I’m too depressed to feel anything right now. And on my birthday no less.” Fluttershy responded with tears coming down from her face.
Her diver friends felt bad to see her so sad after what they witnessed this morning. As for Spike, he barely saw Fluttershy in a position that made her heart feel so empty. Not only did it make him feel bad, but also depressed in his heart. He walked up to her which caught her attention. He gave her his puppy dog eyes while making a whimpering sound. A noise Fluttershy barely heard from him at all.
“Don’t feel this way. It makes me sad to see you like this.” Spike sniffed. “We know you don’t deserve this and we’re doing everything to turn it around.” He then begins to nuzzle on her arm which makes her feel a little better.
Fluttershy picked him up and gave him a hug. “Thank you Spike.” She cried while trying to grow a smile. Silverstream and Skystar sat by her while giving her the good news.
“Yeah, I know today didn’t plan out the way you wanted, but it’s not the end of the world.” Skystar commented.
“If it makes you feel any better, we can throw a birthday party in the dolphin room where Twilight and Sunset are at.” Silverstream wrapping her arm around the birthday girl. “If we find the pearl that is.”
Just when Fluttershy was starting to feel better, she blinked. “Pearl? What pearl?” She asked.
“We’re trying to find a magical pearl that’s actually from Equestria.” Skystar answered.
“Really?” Fluttershy smiled as she stood up while holding onto Spike. “I can’t believe there’s a way!”
“Well the thing is, we’re trying to find it and we’re looking everywhere. Marline is looking outside and we’re trying to find it inside.”
With the afternoon going on at the moment, Fluttershy still has her chance to make her birthday what it should be. “I can help you.” She said. “I know I’m hungry right now, but I can always have a bigger lunch from time to time.”
“That’s always positive to hear.” Spike commented. “So let’s keep searching!”
Back in the dolphin room, Twilight is eating her sandwich while Sunset is waiting. They barely did anything ever since they transformed into mermaids.
“How long is it gonna take for the divers to find the pearl?” Twilight being bored.
“I don’t know, but we can’t help them since we’re mermaids.” Sunset laying her head on the edge of the pool. “I can’t believe we’re in this situation where we can’t help.”
“Well it’s not like sea creatures can float in the air when they get out of the water. It’s not rocket science.”
As much as Sunset would take those words seriously, she knew Twilight is right. “But I also wish mermaids like us have magical powers of changing into people on our own, but it won’t give King Triton much of a purpose in his kingdom I presume?”
This made Twilight look at Sunset, unamused. “Other than stopping the sea witch from taking over the sea?”
“I don’t keep up with animated films okay, I’m not a film critic.”
“Well look at the bright side, at least it’s just Equestrian Magic and nothing else.”
Just in time, the COO opened the door, catching the attention from the mermaids. “Do you two have a moment?”
“From the last several hours, nothing has changed.” Sunset responded.
“What do you want?” Twilight added.
Novo kept her silence until she stopped in front of the pool. “I know this will sound unusual, but I did find a way to not have to cancel the dolphin show tonight.”
Twilight and Sunset looked at each other from hearing the COO of the aquarium. “What do you mean?” Twilight wondered.
“We can do a dolphin and a mermaid show!” Novo shouted with glee.
“Wait, so you actually expect us to perform a show in front of a crowd as mermaids?” Sunset asked, blinking as she did so.
“Don’t you think people are going to question how you manage to find mermaids?” Twilight added.
This didn’t make the COO flinch at all, in fact it made her calm to take this well. “I’m pretty sure they will respect our work, even if they will ask that very question. The point is, you want Fluttershy’s birthday to be great right?”
“That’s the reason we came here.” Sunset said.
“Then at the very least, give her something before she leaves. Even if it will take time for you two to turn back to normal, at least give her something she’ll remember forever.”
Twilight and Sunset felt unsure about Novo’s idea of celebrating their friend's birthday. “Novo, not to be a downer, but how is that gonna make her feel better?” Twilight asked.
“And second of all, we’re not trained at all.” Sunset added. “You’re seriously expecting us to perform a show with zero swimming skills as mermaids?”
Upon hearing the responses, Novo placed her hand on her face. “Okay I just want a mermaid show!” She confessed. “I don’t have any option to fix this. The sky is pouring, you’re friend’s heart is empty and you can’t change back. What are you two supposed to do?”
The three went silent, while the two mermaids face the reality that they’re in. They know they can’t head back home as sea creatures otherwise it can get much worse if they get caught out in the open.
Sunset took a deep breath while Twilight stopped eating the final pieces of her sandwich. “Nothing.” Sunset responded.
“Nothing at all.” Twilight added. “I guess we just have to face the fact we’re gonna stay mermaids for a long time.”
The COO placed her hand under Sunset’s chin. “You can still make a living in the meantime. It’s better than staying in a pool for the rest of your life.”
“I guess that does make sense.” Sunset replied. “It’s better than having claws.”
Novo let go of Sunset as she headed to the door. “I’ll try my best to make some advertisements. I’ll get the employees to take you two into a bigger tank so you can practice swimming.” As she leaves the room, the two friends look at each other with a new revolution in their lives.
“So...we’re just going to be aquarium attractions?” Twilight asked.
“Novo has a passion for mermaids, let’s just try to make her feel better. She’s at least giving us a place to stay.” Sunset responded.
“Our friends are gonna have a fairly boring time without us then.”