The morning sun’s life-bearing rays broke through the mist canopy over the ocean, with a new dawn to follow. Cornfield’s eyes opened to both the sounds of the waves crashing through the cave and his avian girlfriend stirring, still holding him closely. Once they finally settled in a discussion for their current needs, they unanimously set off for breakfast. Cobalt Coral’s location of choice was Pine Needle Barrens. Though it consisted mostly of inedible pine trees, it gave home to certain virgin fruits and vegetables from the gifting earth. The cool grass tickling their legs was a welcome change to the hard, sharp rocky terrain of Basalt’s shores. Passing the time amidst their travels, Coral brought along Zecora’s notes about the Mind of Water to enlighten herself on what power slumbered in the fabled stone.
“Huh... That’s interesting...” she muttered aloud, trying to catch Cornfield’s attention. With her basket full of edible mushrooms, she checked her stallion friend in the corner of her eyes hoping he could forage as she read.
Dazed by the mystic light carried onto the Earth through the sun, Cornfield found himself mesmerized by the visions dancing before him. Prior to their arrival, he protested with assurance that his body grieved him of an unknown illness. Coral presumed that mere hunger pained him after their arduous oceanic journey, and urged him to endure it until they ate. If she saw the same white silhouette now shimmering in the horizon, it probably wouldn’t feel like starvation to her.
“It says here that The Mind of Water requires concentration and meditation to use,” the hippogriff continued on. “If used too much, it will wax the brain with hollow, blank memories.” Disbelief suspended her as she scoffed at the revelation. “HAH! I wonder if there’s a way to make it so I can forget ever meeting Whirlwind. Right, Cornfield?” She glanced towards him for a response, and yet received none.
Hovering a few meters above the ground, a mysterious glowing figure of vague but coherent shape akin to equines revealed its true form, obscured by the shining light. It struck the colt like lightning and he became immobile to its profound discovery.
“Cornfield?” Coral called for him on approach, observing a blank neurotic expression upon his face. “Hey, Earth to Cornfield? Who’s ass are you obsessing over-” She gazed over yonder to see shining rays belonging to the sun, and nothing else. Puzzled by his empty staring, she finally cued in with an obvious question. “What are you even looking at?”
“Coral…” The dazed stallion finally responded. “Are you seeing this, too?”
“No, you look like you are just staring at the sun, which is bad for your eyes, by the way.”
Her insistent calling fell on deaf ears as he was locked on that very thing which he swore had materialized beyond the natural formation of the land. It called out to him, beckoning him to dive deeper into the rabbit hole. He gauged his partner’s face of concern once more until analyzing the figure again. Without warning, he felt compelled to dash for it!
“Hey, WHAT?! Oh, this motherbuc-” His sudden dashing run caught her off guard as she reared up from the ground. “Cornfield, where are you-”
“Come on, Coral!” He shouted as if he knew what to do.
Annoyed, she jammed her notes into her saddlebags. “Ugh! For the record! I didn’t vote on exerting myself on an empty stomach!” She kept a trailing yet desperate pace as she yelled. Cornfield disappeared into the veil of the thick foliage as Coral struggled to make up the difference in her delayed reaction. Catching her breath, she set aside the thick leaves blocking the way and found themselves within the veil of an arena shaped clearing, distinguished only by rocky cliffs in the north. The colt wandered around in search of the elusive figure he seemed infatuated by.
The hippogriff finally reunited with him, gasping for air and joining him in his bewilderment. “Cornfield, I swear to Skystar, if you don’t tell me what is going on, I’m leaving you to go eat breakfast myself!” Coral threatened out of pure frustration and hunger.
“But... But…” the poor pony stammered, visibly distressed.“They were right here! I KNOW I saw something, Coral!” Taking a moment, he sat down and concentrated his mind on the fading memory, mentally picturing what he witnessed. “I... I saw it... It looked like... a hippogriff...? NO! It was a seapony! I think... Female?”
“One, if it’s a hippogriff, I would have seen it, too. Two, seaponies can’t survive on land. Three, I didn’t think it would be so soon after I shared my heart with you that you’d be chasing after someone’s tail...”
Cornfield hastily defended himself. “Whoa, hey! It wasn’t like that, Coral!” But as his mind wandered, he came to a worrying realization. “...Could it be ghosts?”
“Ghosts?” Coral reiterated with disbelief. “In broad daylight?”
“Is Mount Aris haunted?”
“Haunted? ...No? It shouldn’t be. Are you that hungry for hallucinations to become a problem?” She waved her claws in front of him to check if he was coherent. “Did my cooking cause this? ... No, because I ate it, too...”
Upon realizing he may have been caught in some spectral trickery, he relinquished the idea. “Let’s go back. I guess there’s nothing here…”
They headed back from whence they came but, as they approached the thick foliage, another figure emerged from the canopy. As Coral prepared for a wild animal or something equally threatening, her guard heightened until Calm Breeze revealed himself. The male hippogriff hailed both of them, but mainly focused on his sister.
“So, you are in a meadow in Pine Tree Barrens, close to a cliffside and surrounded by forest...” Calm delineated with detailed accuracy. Perhaps too much so as it riled his sibling’s worst fears.
“That’s right, we are.” Coral confirmed after a hesitated silence. “Why?”
Calm put his head down, evading her hostile glare and looking rather guilty. “Coral. I’m sorry. As my sister, I wish you had chosen another path...”
“Didn’t we discuss this before, Calm?” Cornfield chimed in, yet remaining civil.
As her brother turned his head to the colt’s direction, Coral’s unmistakable perception detected something sticking out of his ear: a bell shaped flower. She instinctively recoiled, horrified at what he had done. “No... IS THAT A WHISPERWEED?!” The purple hippogriff screamed.
“Say WHAT?!” Knowing their use, his anger built up against another attempt at Calm to screw over his own flesh and blood.
“This is why I’m sorry.” Calm clarified, firm on his stance. “It has to be done.”
Visibly shaking, Coral clenched her beak, allowing her rage to leverage the situation. “You... BASTARD!”
She feared that the worst was yet to come as she latched her claws around his beak, jerked his head closer, plucked the flower out of his ear, and listened in: “-The entire cave. Repeat, Search the entire cave for the map to The Gems and take every jewel you can find.” It was Lord Whirlwind, presumably commanding a raid party.
Grasping the flower and crushing it in her claws, she released Calm with a shove. “You sold us out!” The gem thief accused. “You’re planning on taking everything I ever had!”
“What’s going on, Coral?!” Cornfield started panicking from her intense reaction. “Who was that?”
She looked at Cornfield with a mixture of frustration and worry, as her confidence took a dip with their well-being at stake. “We need to go! It’s not safe for us back at the cave anymore!”
“We have troops surrounding this beach and heading northbound.” Calm informed, confident peace was attainable at last. “They will find you eventually. You aren’t going to be harmed, both you and your friend! Just... Please, give up!”
“Why are you doing this?!” Cornfield demanded answers, stomping with his hoof.
“Coral is a thief, and she’s playing a dangerous game with one of The Gems in her possession. I’m sorry, but I can’t even trust my sister to do good with a criminal history like hers!”
“My criminal history?!” Coral quickly protested. “Those monkeys have more blood on their paws than I ever will in a hundred lifetimes!”
“Coral hasn’t done anything wrong since she’s returned,” The colt argued, before drastically raising his volume in the hopes that he would be heard loud and clear. “YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TAKE HER IN!”
Whirlwind’s lapdog winced from the shouting, but unexpectedly snapped as he asserted himself against the green stallion that has caused him nothing but heartache. “By taking The Heart of Nature, it became the world’s concern! Stop impeding the fight for justice!” Unabiding as he wavered over to Coral, he made his resolve clear as ever. “Coral, you are coming with us!”
While her brother closed in with bitter resolve, Coral propelled boldly forward, hurtling into his body with her shoulder as they fell into the grass. “The BUCK I am!” she answered with resistance held firm, standing over him pridefully.
“Who in Tartarus are you to decide that?!” queried Cornfield, ready for his partner to tag him in anytime.
“I’m just…” Calm struggled to finish with the wind knocked out of him. “Following... orders.”
Running well past the point of no return, the female avian scanned along the distant horizons. She eyed the cliffside and debated flying over it, but unless they plan on leaving, it wouldn’t help them much. Kludgetown was the next stop and she’s not having that as an option. Feeling the wavy grass blades grace her limbs, she noticed their thick fibers and a plan hatched like a newborn chick. “Cornfield, stand in the middle of the field,” she instructed. “I have an idea.”
Without hesitation, he jumped into position with enthusiasm. “Ok, Coral! I trust you!”
“I’m glad you do, because we have nowhere to run! We stand our ground!” She primed the Heart of Nature, thinking about the pony that mattered to her most and her duty to protect him. The surrounding grass suddenly grew tall, high enough that even a storm creature would have trouble looking over. Then, she ran in wide circles around Cornfield, gradually making tighter and tighter laps. The grass towered over all in her trail until the colt felt like he was practically drowning in thin flora and smelling like a wet lawn. Finished with the barrier, Coral jumped inside and waited for the hunt to begin as her claws dug into the Earth.
Calm marvelled at the clever ability his sister accomplished first-claw. Cautiously, he drew near the seemingly impassable amount of greenery. An audible rustling stirred the outer rim as he tried parting the obscuring grass blades. “Coral,” he nervously uttered. “You don’t have to do-” A vine under Coral’s power shifted effortlessly through the dirt to smite her brother without letting him finish. It popped out of the soil, surprising the light-blue hippogriff as he let out a yelp, before slapping his cheek with the tough floral rope, then hiding back in the ground after delivering a blow.
“You’re lucky I could control myself to not have thorns, Calm!” his sibling rudely dismissed.
“What now, Coral?” asked the colt beside her, growing nervous about the coming tide of reinforcements. “He knows we’re in here.”
Silence hung over the two as the grass rustled around them. A solemn expression of sadness washed over as she went eye-to-eye with him. “I’m sorry, Cornfield. I have no other backup plan. If you want to run, I’ll understand. I will deal with each filthy primate that approaches myself!”
“NO! We stick together!” Cornfield planted his hooves on the ground, content to do or die with his friend as always.
Helplessly cracking a smile at his gumption, Coral steeled herself for the worst. “Somehow, I knew you’d say that...” Then, beyond a path to them, she could hear and feel the rumbling of numerous giant paws pounding soil, alongside the destructive sounds of crashing trees. Their armor carelessly clinking and clanking gave away their distinct proximity. All the while, the cowardly Calm designated the overgrown floral cover, pointing straight down the middle. “She’s in here!” He commanded the lumbering fleet like an ant ordering lions to do his bidding. “Seize her, but don’t hurt her!”
One soldier charged onward, spear planted in his hands going ahead into the grass with a warcry. The bellowing hollers cut short into a pained, gasping yell as Cornfield watched the creature receive a thorned vine tightening around his neck. The body twirled around like a ragdoll before chucking him off to Celestia knows where, blood trailed down onto the grass, soaking it. He wanted to cheer for Coral, but figured it was best if they deduced there was only one perpetrator hiding inside.
More troops took up to the fight, but instead dispersed into a rounding wall formation that surrounded the grassy anomaly. Taking into account somepony was listening in for an ambush, three of the soldiers headed in together with stealth as the rules of engagement. However, Coral’s organic trip-alarms went undetected within the grass they trampled upon. Enacting enough power she could muster, two soldiers from her flanks had been swiped up in vines. Unfortunately, she was preoccupied with them as one in the reserve shoulder charged in and rammed itself home against the plucky colt! The force dragged him out of the grass, screaming along the way.
The forced entry shocked the bird, but she kept her cool enough to discard the rude guest. Latching it by the legs, she hurtled the storm creature towards the cliff with a rocking thud, followed by a small avalanche of stone, before calling out to her friend. “Cornfield! Are you ok!”
“Ah... Yeah…” He barely voiced loud enough for her to hear as he slowly lifted his rattled body up.
Just as he neared her position, two more forced themselves into the grass, taking advantage of the lapse in focus. Coral knew they were coming, but hesitated with concern of unfairly subjecting her only ally to the deadly slicing thorns. “Cornfield! Shout where you are!”
“Over here!” a familiar voice cried out in the northwest.
“Good!” From a distance, Cornfield could hear more pained primate cries and bodies flung overhead, a sight of which made him hit the dirt out of reflex.
As the crashing of arms and magic weaved its tale of battle, Lord Whirlwind stoically approached the scene, mounted on a trusted Elite Troop’s back, who donned red and intimidating armor. He slid off the giant shoulders and marched towards Calm who stood spectating his sister’s abilities with his unsightly gaping jaw.
“Why are you impressed with your sister’s futile attempts in evasion?” He calmly spoke to Calm as another body flew over him, landing with a sickening crash. He observed the body’s relative velocity, but then went back to their conversation, lacking any sympathy in the world.
“It’s the Heart of Nature, sir!” Calm explained hurriedly, shaken that he might answer for his failures. “S-she’s using it to her advantage to-”
“I can see that, Calm.” The tyrant thrusted his palm out and hushed his subordinate’s grovelling. “While you were busy wondering how many bodies, however expendable, to throw at the situation, you were deluded by your mercy for her. You missed an obvious solution.”
The ears of the pony and hippogriff duo picked up the familiarly pretentious voice. “Uh oh, hey Coral,” warned Cornfield. “I think that guy’s here!”
“I can’t see him, but all we need to do is strangle his neck and, boom, no more monkey army!” Mindlessly, Coral huffed out her call to end the fight. “Come closer into the grass, you filthy brainwasher...” Whirlwind, demonstrating the conditions Coral foolishly trapped herself with, took a stick lying next to him and casually tossed it to the grass. Thinking it was her moment of justice, Coral lashed a vine at it, but reeled it in to find no monkey at her claws. “Huh?!”
“Huh?! What?” Her colt friend repeated.
“Did one get away?” A soldier, following his leader in a classic example of monkey-see-monkey-do, threw a rock into the grass, fully exposing her plan’s critical flaw. Once again, she entangled the empty air. “What the-?!”
“What’s going on?” Cornfield had yet deduced Whirlwind’s strategy, while their plan started crumbling away. Soon, more things were chucked into the grassy field. Up a proverbial creek without a paddle, Coral went into a frenzy, rapidly lashing her vines out, in full spray and pray fashion. Then, after consuming so much power from the Heart, Zecora’s warnings came into fruition. Coral gasped in pain as her chest snapped, blood pumping as fast as it could from all the adrenaline, as one of the chambers skipped a beat. Then, each wave of blood shot a slight jolt to her system. She had abused the Heart too much, too quickly, and her real one suffered for it.
“CORAL!” Her back-up immediately rushed on over, called by the sound of her suffering.
“I-” She stammered, retaining what little strength she had, struggling just to stand up with a cough. “I’m ok... I just need to keep... fighting....” Even if he couldn’t hear her heartbeat, the Heart’s brilliance was slowly fading before his eyes, losing its luster.
“No! You need to rest and relax! We’re outnumbered!” Just as she gazed longingly into his comforting eyes, they were crept up by an elite from behind and, with formidable strength, had been lifted up by their necks. The hippogriff’s vines tore through the Earth like an uprooted tree stump.
“Ah! Let- Let go of ME!” She vainly struggled in the monkey’s grasp.
“Don’t hurt us!” the green stallion pleaded with a hanging head. “...Please.”
Lumbering out of the grass, the red cladded warrior achieved victory in Lord Whirlwind’s name, throwing the two of them onto the ground at his paws. Both captives let out a pained grunt as they received a faceful of dirt. Any motion to stand as they looked up was met with a surrounding circle of spears primed at them.
Exaggerating a sigh, the pompous young noble proceeded to rub salt in the wound. “I thought that maybe you had the sense to listen to your only brother and cooperate. Yet, it seems that your type only learns from failure. Your crimes can only get you so far, Cobalt Coral.”
“Don’t!” Cornfield blocked his face for any stabbing weapons heading his way.
“Fear not. I do not wish to kill her.” Biding his time, he polished the lens of his glasses with his handkerchief before putting it back on. “We are only here because Ms. Coral is needed to tighten the security protocols for the Mind of Water. Her gem is the key to unlocking the temple and seeing what improvements need to be made.”
The captured colt revealed his eye through his forelegs to see. “Improvements?”
“He’s telling the truth,” Calm assured. “We have direct orders from Queen Novo herself.”
Coral, though nearly wiped out after all the struggle, saw red when her brother spoke in confidence. “You honestly believe what this banana-sucking primate is telling you?” she seethed. “You think that he’s doing this for some greater good?!”
“For your information, Calm trusts my word due to my astute resolution for peace between countries,” The lord of the storm creatures proclaimed with unwavering charisma. “He has always been my right-paw hippogriff of choice, and his scouting tasks have always been satisfactory. Wherever he goes, my army shall arrive.”
The beaten gem thief met with the space between them. After contemplating his words in silence, she let out a sarcastic laugh. “Oh, you think you are so bucking clever, huh? I get it. He’s ‘the calm before the storm’.”
“Ooh, so even an unpredictable sociopath like yourself could see the comedic irony of this situation.”
“What are you gonna do with us?” Cornfield demanded an answer, though he was in no position to get one. “Don’t we get to send a letter or something? A court appointed lawyer? You aren’t responsible for sentencing her for past transgressions!”
“That’s where you are wrong.” Whirlwind addressed the spunky stallion, who spoke out of turn. “The queen assured me that I could do what I wish to her, considering her prior banishment from Mt. Aris. However, I’m a fair ruler, unlike my simpleton father. I will take Coral prisoner into my prototype submergence capsule to have her open the temple’s doors. You, on the other paw, may leave, so as long as you never return! Go back to Equestria where you belong and stay there!”
This ultimatum would be merciful for any unwelcome pony in foreign soil, but Coral’s endangerment only strengthened his resolve. “Where Coral goes... I GO!”
The lord’s face twisted a sickening grin, leaning down to his height. “I respect your chivalry, though it will only doom you in the end.” Resuming his upright authoritative position, he readied to pass conviction like a judge slamming his gavel. “Then you shall face the same charges she does.”
“WAIT!” Coral suddenly cried out. All other eyes locked on and anticipated her next move. Her face lost all bravado when her beloved pony became part of the pot. In a desperate last attempt, she tried reasoning his behavior with his family in the debate spotlight. “The Storm King... He’s... Your father?”
“He is, though I’d elect not to speak about it.” He precariously looked into her eyes. “However, I’ll make an exception. What of ‘him’?”
Coral dragged her weakened body closer to Lord Whirlwind’s legs while the rest of his battalion eagerly watched for any treacherous foul play. However, her faint movement was no act, but a plea of mercy. “If you are doing this because you want to avenge your father’s death, I know what that is like. I, too, wished nothing but pain for your people because of the death of both me and my brother’s parents. Right now, you are the only creature to break this cycle of vengeance. If you swear to do no harm, really and truly, I will take The Heart of Nature back to the Everfree Forest and put it back where it belongs.”
The desperate wish she confessed inspired Cornfield of his hippogriff partner, embracing her with energy as he carefully observed Whirlwind. For his valiant compassion, his object of affection wrapped her wing around him, returning the favor. The gears in Calm’s mind started revving, as his sister was ready to capitulate everything in the name of true peace after all. Surely his leader sworn in justice will give a harmless, crying thief another chance like any good king would. “Sir. If I may advise, this offer helps our end-goals between relations perfectly. No Heart of Nature in her possession means no more need to defend the temple’s entrance. Then, we can convince Celestia to-”
Whirlwind put a paw against Calm’s beak, physically silencing him. “Not yet. Novo entrusted us to fortify defenses and we are using Coral to do it. Besides, I couldn’t care less about the idiotic baboon that spawned me.”
“Gee.” The green colt addressed the lord’s personal lackey in a chastising tone. “I wonder why he would want to ‘fortify defenses’ rather than ensure peace the easy way?”
Ignoring those comments, the monarch nodded at his troops and commanded, “Secure them both and bring them to Basalt Beach. We are departing soon...”
As the troops dragged the powerless duo away, Cornfield desperately yelled that Calm do the right thing. “He’s lying, Calm! He’s going to use Coral’s heart to open the way to the next Gem of Creation! YOUR SISTER’S LIFE IS IN DANGER!”
The cowardly hybrid stewed while these words reverberated in his head about the alleged fugitives being pulled away. As doubt settled in, he could feel his superior’s claws rest on his shoulder blade. “Fear not, Calm,” the primal prince assured. “I promise that your dear sister will not suffer under my jurisdiction.”
Crossing the mighty waves of the ocean below, a lone figure flew as fast as possible towards Basalt Beach. Aiming for the cavern where Coral resided, the young princess Skystar flapped her wings with great urgency. While hoping to whatever cosmic deity in charge out there that she wasn’t too late, her shadow below became distorted once it hit the shore’s terrain. Along the white and rocky sands, she spotted the lone thief, Silver Night, exploring around and hoping that a careless pirate buried treasure somewhere near the boat. As loud as she could, the next of kin to the throne called to the pony out of her element. “Ahoooooooooooy!”
Silver jumped and looked about, startled by the sudden voice. Then, she noticed a creature’s peculiar silhouette zeroing on her location, shading the sun out of her uncovered eye for a better view. The careless bird, failing to land with any decent sense of royalty, crashed upon the sand in front of Silver, burying her face while the waves splashed into her hindlegs.
“Oh...” The black mare had very little to say about her less than regal entrance. “Hi...”
The royal hippogriff coughed as she gradually lifted her body. Slices of sand shifted off her sides with her beak spitting the grains out before turning to Silver, desperate for good news. “Am I too late?!”
“For what?”
“For the attack!” Slightly hysterical, Skystar moved in and gently shook Silver by the shoulders. “Did you not hear the soldiers?”
“WHAT?!” The thief pulled herself away. She didn’t think that she was going to be involved in a potential war zone so soon, let alone ever! “I thought Coral was safe at home?!”
“I hope she is, too! I hope it’s not too late!”
“Which way did they go?”
“Er, the soldiers or Coral?”
Silver’s hoof abruptly became very acquainted with her own face.“The soldiers, you dolt!” she shouted, hoping that the birdbrain would get it together.
“OH!” The teenage hybrid’s feathered mane stood on end from the jolt to her attention span. “RIGHT! I don’t know! All I know is my mother told me to stay away from the beach, because the Storm Creatures were going to appre- Appro... Aprra?” Her mind trailed off as she delved into her narrow vocabulary to pull out that big fancy word she’s searching for.
“Going to what? Approach a swim competition?”
“Er, capture Coral and take her away to do something with The Mind Of Water! I may not be queen yet, but that’s just bad news all around to me!”
“Can’t your mom do something? She’s just, I don’t know, the Queen of right bucking now!” Shouted Silver, throwing her hoof.
“But Mom gave them permission to take Coral and enter the temple! I don’t know what my mother is thinking, but Whirlwind is…” Skystar shivered and winced at the thought of him around her presence. “A JERK when no one is watching! We gotta help Coral!”
“Great idea! You go save them! I’ll grab our stuff and make our escape!” Just as Silver was about to save one-eyed face and run with her braided tail between her legs, the queen’s only daughter made a plea.
“Wait! I don’t know if I can stop them by myself. If I’m caught, Whirlwind will snitch on me!” Skystar bowed it as low as she could, practically begging for help. “Can’t you come with me to the cave? Please?! Do your thiefy thing! Sneak around ahead of me!”
Admittedly, the onyx coated burglar was amused by the notion that a member of a legendary royal family was pleading her. The thought crossed her mind to dish out the ultimate rejection in her face, but when she saw a certain shimmer in those light blue eyes, suddenly she couldn’t lose that honest trust. Eventually, Skystar’s big pupils drove her point home and the unicorn huffed. “Ok, FINE! But I warn you, I’m not the fighter type.”
Skystar jumped up with newfound hope. “Neither am I! I’m not asking you to beat them. Just run and I follow your lead!”
Silver understood and nodded. “Back to the cave, then?”
“After you!” Skystar allowed her newly “hired” rogue to take point.
After a short trip, they found where Coral’s cove had been, only to discover that the stone discus hiding the entrance was tossed aside onto the sand like it was hastily discarded. Already this was a bad indication how events were developing to the intrepid scout. Fulfilling her duties, Silver led the way with the twitchy Skystar following behind. The wooden door at the end of the tunnel had been shattered into splinters. They crossed over the debris and once inside the hovel, learned the terrifying reality that another party had ransacked Coral’s safehouse.
The table was split down the middle, as well as the chairs. Any edible foodstuffs had been raided from the pantries, leaving behind containers of nothing. The biggest tragedy became obvious when they saw the dismal lost beauty of Coral’s gem collection. The display cases were smashed and all sparkling traces of her troves gone. All save for the very gift that was faithfully donated to Silver.
“Shit!” Silver uttered aloud. Although she rarely saw eye-to-eye with her feathered rival in crime, she wouldn’t wish getting one’s thieving trophies stolen on even her worst enemy.
“No! We’re already too late!” exclaimed Skystar, failing to qualify the leadership necessary that royalty would have. “Oh, what do we do now?!”
“Now we get out of here! They’ll soon be after us too!”
“Wait!” The princess stopped Silver with a quick and gentle tug on the tail. “If they already ransacked the place, then they aren’t coming back... They’re after Coral, not us.” Then, from the corner of her eye, Skystar spotted a bag, thankfully untouched. Unbeknownst to her, it was Cornfield’s. Curiously, the princess checked it out. Then, rather playfully, she took out his prized possession and started looking at it from all sides. “Oooooh, what is THIS thing?”
Depressing the button unleashed a flash, and then a snap occurred; the princess unwittingly took a picture of herself with his camera. “Eek! That’s bright!” she chirped.
“Dammit, get serious, Skystar!” Silver chastised her foolishness in a tense situation.
“I’m sorry, it’s just that I’ve never seen something like this before.”
“We should go back to the village. I think it’s safe that way.”
“I think we should. But, Silver?” She held the camera for all to see. “What is this and what does it do?”
“It’s a... camera?” The thief’s visible eyebrow raised as high as it could, surprised by her lack of understanding.
“A camera? Is it important? Sorry, I’ve been living in the sea for almost all my life. I’ve never seen this before.”
“It takes pictures, what do they…” Halting her unneeded dismay with her current friend’s child-like curiosity, she shifted focus. “Look, we don’t have time for this, we should get going! The only place I can imagine they’d be is either Mt. Aris... Or that temple Coral talked about?”
“You’d think they’d go after the Mind of Water so soon before Whirlwind does?”
“If Coral is anything to go by, she’d be halfway down there by now.”
“Really? That would be terrific if she’s not already captured! Let’s go see if they need our help, then!” Silver reluctantly agreed, and had planned on at least collecting some royal bits for keeping the princess herself company. They abandoned the ransacked hole-in-the-wall for the sunlit sands back on the beach, but not without Skystar playfully hanging Cornfield’s professional shutters around her neck. Then, the sliver of a familiar voice resonated in their ears, perking them up in the audible direction.
“Calm, PLEASE! Cornfield is telling the truth! You can’t trust Whirlwind, no matter what he says!” That amount of loud squawking tipped the bandit off.
“It’s them!” Silver exclaimed in a hushed tone. “It’s Coral!”
“She’s here?” chirped Skystar. “We aren’t too late?!” Going past her escort, she peeked over, identifying the beings ahead. However, the scene itself brought her feathers to stand on end as she reeled back and quickly took cover in the few tall rocks jutting out of the beach. Curiosity piqued in Silver to know why she became so flustered, but then she caught a glimpse of the terrifying bondage Coral and Cornfield found themselves in. Their necks were wrapped with heavy industrial cuffs and connected to chains clamped around the arms of four elite storm guards. Calm conducted himself in negotiating with Coral, as Whirlwind stared out upon the horizon, patiently waiting for something.
“But I do!” Argued the brother of the most wanted hippogriff. “He hasn’t led me astray yet! He’s always had my best interests at heart.”
In the heat of the moment, all Silver could fathom was imagining the worst nightmare; herself locked away among the imprisoned, surrounded by hulking giants that could potentially crush her flat. “Oh shit!” she cursed once again before turning on her hooves and made headway back into the cave’s shelter.
“Wait! Where are you going?” Skystar called her cowardice out just as she started to make her way to safety.
“I’m hiding! You can do the same if you want but don’t you dare let them know I’m here!”
“Don’t you want to see what they are even doing? I think we could be one of the few witnesses to see Whirlwind do some-” The princess attempted to get close, but Silver exchanged her warmth with hostility.
“SHOO! SCRAM! Whenever I find myself in the wrong place at the wrong time I skedaddle! Like you should too!”
“Even if it means running from other creatures in need?”
“Watch me!”
Suddenly, a crashing roar of water could be heard happening on the ocean’s surface. The princess, ever curious what it could be, leaned around to investigate the source, safe in the cover of a rock the storm creatures would never suspect. A long metallic oblong machine had surfaced above the water, bolted with darkened blue steel frames around its hull and bearing the ever-ominous storm symbol near the rudders. Then, from the top of the vehicle, a panel flipped up and extended, creating a bridge where Whirlwind resided and granting access. Coral and Cornfield stood in awe what the heir to the Storm King had achieved through his technological advancements
“Finally. Let’s get started with our mission.” After adjusting his glasses, he signaled the guards and motioned them along with the rebellious duo. “Bring the boarding party along.”
Hauled away onto the ramp, Skystar considered tailing them, trying to generate a plan in her hyperactive mind.
“PSST! What’s happening?”
Barely containing herself from shrieking, the royal bird clutched her chest and jumped away from the voice of Silver. Her mind was so deeply rooted into the events that she forgot all about that one dark mysterious pony. As soon as Skystar took a few deep breaths, she began “It’s a large thing! A REALLY large thing! Something popped open on the top and made a flat branch thing to the beach! Coral and Cornfield were led to it!”
“WHAT?! Let me see!” Skystar saw everything unfold as Silver met her situated point, watching the said events. “Holy bucking shit!”
Light expanded beyond the hatch of the vessel. Stretching over the beach, a foreboding walkway settled down, and it was there that Coral and Cornfield were taken inside through that opening.
“What’s happening?! What should we do, Skystar?” Silver’s voice shrieked with sheer dismay after seeing their friends taken fully prisoner.
The panic flooded the monarch in training. “I-I don’t know! All I know is that my mom gave him permission to go inside the temple but-” Then a hint of knowledge reemerged inside her mind, which would greatly aid their quest. “... But the chamber with The Mind of Water is still forbidden!”
Silver cocked her head awkwardly. “What? Come again?”
“Mom specifically instructed Whirlwind not to enter the precious dome protecting the Mind of Water! If we can sneak behind them and catch them entering... if they even DARE walk inside, mom will surely rip and tear that treaty to ribbons!”
“But what about Coral and the brat?”
Skystar rolled her eyes with a smile. “Well, OBVIOUSLY, we need to make sure that they aren’t hurt. They’re our friends, right?”
“Maybe... but that kid is still a creep!”
“I don’t know. He doesn’t seem THAT bad. He cares for Coral a lot, and I trust any friend of a hippogriff!”
Silver stood on buckling hocks, repressing anything about the risk that helping them would ensue, until she burst. “Whatever! So what now?”
The poor camera was soon at the mercy of Skystar’s innocent playful talons. “So this takes... pictures, right?” The princess presumed. ”I’m not sure how it works, but I point and click, right?”
“Oh yeah!” The pony realized the available method at hoof to incriminate any broken promises by Whirlwind. “Good idea! ...But don’t you DARE take any photos of me!”
“Of course! But let’s wait until that big metal thing is gone, then we follow it. So, have you been a seapony before?”
“A... Seapony???”
“Well, I mean. How well can you hold your breath underwater otherwise? I can hold it for 7 seconds!”
“Whatever you’re thinking of, you better just drop it!!”
“Bu-But...” Their opportunity to frame Whirlwind was evaporating. All members of the brigade boarded with the bridge extension retracting and the hatch sealing them safely inside. The machine hummed and vibrated as it eventually submerged into the briny depths.
“Oops! We gotta go!” Without a moment to lose, the princess snatched the thief by her hoof and gave pursuit.
As they approached the sea, Skystar tapped a piece of the pearl on her necklace. It glowed before just as quickly transforming her into a seapony, equipped with everything a fish needed for underwater excursions. Silver was unpleasantly surprised after her unsuspecting hindquarters became a fish’s tail, complete with white fins.
Upon submerging themselves, bubbles bursted out of Silver’s mouth in a scream. “WAAAAAAAH!! Wha-” The sudden transformation made her almost go into shock, leaving her exhaling heavily. Only to realize she had a pair of oxygen-exchanging gills instead.
“Ah...ha... what the....buck?” She said, giving her new body a thorough examination.
Skystar, possessing a pony’s snout instead of her usual bird beak, praised the blessing of the pearl. “Isn’t it great?” Although she suddenly felt the tug of Cornfield’s camera and inspected it with concern. “Gosh, I hope this is water-proof! Come on!” With a twirl, she zigged downward in expert fashion.
Silver waved her parts about and the newly found fins fluttered about, realizing how efficient they were at swimming. “...Uh... Ok, I guess this is fine.”
Enveloped in the dark blue ocean, Skystar could make out three spinning propellers driving the capsule at a brisk pace. “There it is!” she cried out to Silver as the former unicorn strained to keep up. “Follow it and we’re sure to find the temple! ...Not that I already know where it is or anything.” She rubbed the back of her scaly glimmering neck and chuckled sheepishly.
“Oooook!” Silver exasperatedly shouted, wondering how she crawled out of the frying pan and into the fire.
Meanwhile, inside the capsule, the lead pilot was at the helm, equipped with a subnautical suit in lieu of any armor. At the ready behind him was a foyer, with Whirlwind taking to the grand seat in the middle and two benches on each side, some occupied by the chosen elite onboard. Beyond that laid the prison, holding those unwelcomed locked within. A mere small window with bars upon a door was the only privilege fugitives had to make contact with their captors. Portholes were fixed on the walls for their only oceanic viewing privilege. Calm guarded outside said door while Coral and Cornfield stewed inside.
Coral watched outside the window, carelessly dragging her pointed claws on the thick glass, leaving fine hairline scratches. Beside her, Cornfield sat himself against a wall entirely motionless, looking down upon himself. “I.. wanted to go back into the water with you by my side, Cornfield...” said the distraught gem collector as she planted her forehead on the chilly glass, their fates sinking in an underwater prison. “...But never like this...”
Cornfield unexpectedly groaned rather heavily. Sudden jerking pain riled his internal organs, making him delirious. “...Ngh... I-I…” Though her faults weighed her down into pity, she immediately shot up and tried to address the poor suffering colt. “...I don’t feel very good…” he started doubling over.
“Cornfield, are you ok?” She touched his forehead, testing his temperature.
The stallion wrapped his stomach in his hooves, clutching it like his organs would pop out at any moment. “I feel sick…”
Further pained grunts left his faithful companion at a complete loss. With no immediate solutions, she slammed on the iron bars. No one but her brother could help her now. “Calm! Cornfield is getting ill! I think he needs something to settle his stomach!”
Acknowledging her plea, her brother peeked through the gap in the door and observed the colt. Despite present indications he was in pain, the blood-tied servant waved his claws, brushing it off and calmly stated his mind “It may be the sudden pressure as we go deeper underwater. He should be fine.”
Before everybody in the sub knew, there was a scream so sickening, it threatened to raze their brains and almost deafened Coral forever. The entire vessel shook with incredible might, every storm creature grabbed the nearest metallic thing they could grip, thrown by heavy turbulence, barely staying in their seats. It almost bumped the glasses off of Whirlwind’s face, but he quickly stayed and sucked back in the single drop of sweat purging from one of his pores. “What’s the meaning of this?! Admiral! Did we hit something?”
The pilot gathered himself while monitoring every gauge available to him and reported, “Negative. Sensors show no external impact.”
As if the events couldn’t get any more unusual, a specific portion of the ship broke apart without warning; the prison section crumbled off and quickly became absorbed in a bubble, floating ever safely higher. This miraculous action tore the u-boat wide open, threatening the malevolent creatures with watery graves. Whirlwind, however, came prepared for every contingency, and with the swift click of a button, initiated an emergency back-up in the event of such catastrophic damage.
The command deck sheltered just beyond his chair, sealing them with an impenetrable iron wall, as the remnants of their ship ascended. However, with the remaining sub sinking to the bottom, all he and his crew could do was wait for the other half to float to the surface. One crew member was MIA on Whirlwind’s side, as Calm was forcefully taken along, holding on the iron bars for dear life and watching his boss gracefully ride a safe escape. One false step into the wrong side of this bubble, and he would be doomed to drown without the pearl’s transformation properties.
Meanwhile, Coral was distraught, flushed from one disaster after another, and there was no way to tell if things were improving or worsening. Only thing left for her was to see that Cornfield would wake up from this nightmare. She rushed to his side and squawked in his face. “CORNFIELD! What did you just DO?!” His body absent of any will, eyelids shuttered over his distant pupils, he ultimately lost consciousness from the sheer magic that launched within, containing enough power to shift the fates of everyone involved.