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// Chapter 23: Kaelynn 
// Story: Forbidden Places 
// by Starscribe 
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Kaelynn might have a queen waiting for her, but she still didn't take the most direct route. Rivulet and the naval intelligence birds hadn't been lying—there really was a city down here. It was far better to visit in person than anything she'd ever dreamed up watching Little Mermaid as a kid.

The city itself wasn't built directly onto the seafloor. To reach it, they had to pass through lava-tubes that permeated the structure of the island, before emerging in a brilliant bioluminescent glow. Structures had been carved into the rock on every side, and somehow covered over with patches of living coral and other plants.

"Why live in a cave?" she asked, at the conclusion of her little song of joy. "There's a living reef out there!"

"Why don't ponies live in open fields?" Rivulet countered. "In our case, it's because we didn't decide to emigrate here—we fled, when word of the disastrous fall of Acampus reached us. Not every bird could escape the invasion before the Storm King's armies reached us. Given what happened to your city, ours had to be harder to find. Depth of water alone would not protect us."

"Not mine," she corrected, filing away the name Acampus for later. Apparently it wasn't around anymore, but that still might give her more information about her new species. No city was just destroyed with everyone inside it—even nuclear weapons left survivors. Maybe she could find their descendants. 

"Even so," Rivulet said. "You see the lenses around the edges of the cavern—those funnel light from the surface. It isn't enough for crops, we grow those beyond the city. But we have cultivated plenty of sea life to make our home more comfortable."

"You did a great job," she said. Though as far as cities went, it couldn't hold that many. From above, she could see most buildings all from the entrance, built in concentric rings around a single large structure. The capital, or maybe the palace? "Your home is beautiful."

"Visit the Harmonizing Heights before you sail for home," Rivulet said flatly. "A seapony in particular should be able to appreciate it. We have done much to make this cavern feel like home—but it is still a shelter, after all these years. The home our ancestors built is above. We are not native to these waters, as you are."

Kaelynn said very little as they swam deeper, approaching the central structure. There were thousands of fish living down here, but most paid her little mind. From a distance, she could pass for one of their children—it was only up close that the differences became obvious. Some did point and mutter. But she saw awe from the crowd, not disgust. 

They reached the palace, and fish carrying actual tridents lifted a thin veil to let them pass inside. Through a few secure corridors, then into a vast hall, with a ceiling vaulted almost as high as the cavern itself. Bioluminescence like nothing she'd ever seen shone from behind it, from a strange chandelier shaped vaguely like a jellyfish. But no jellyfish ever glowed like this, bright enough to illuminate the entire space. Cooler blue tendrils covered the windows leading up to the throne, and Kaelynn kept her distance from those. Just because they looked glassy and delicate didn't mean they weren't bursting with neurotoxin.

Fish lingered around the sides of the room, wearing what she could only describe as "fancy shells" in various styles. There were no cloth garments here at all, not even the perfunctory kind that covered nothing. 

Atop the grand throne was a fish of white and purple, larger than any of those who filled the room around them. She wore a crown, and watched Kaelynn's approach with the only restraint in the room.

"Oh my gosh!" A yellow blur nearly crashed into her—instead it circled around her, spinning Kaelynn in the motion and disorienting her. She caught a faint glimpse of fluffy blue “mane,” and a set of rear fins so big they were almost wings. "She's a seapony! Mom, she's a seapony! Can you see this? It's real—it actually happened!"

She grabbed Kaelynn by the shoulder, stopping her motion. This fish was big, even bigger than Rivulet, with a graceful, somehow feminine build. "Did you really sing so well a whole crew of pirates flung themselves overboard? Were you in Acampus? Why were you riding around on the surface in the first place? Which is better, kelp or seaweed?"

Finally, something for her to latch onto. "I think kelp is seaweed, isn't it? I was never big into sushi."

"Skystar, darling, give the fish some space! We don't need to scare the seaponies back into extinction a few minutes after coming back." The queen spoke from her throne, in a voice that was somehow regal and relaxed simultaneously.

"Right, sorry." The yellow fish, apparently called "Skystar", circled around her once more, then retreated to linger near the throne. "Sorry again, seapony! It's just that seeing you is so exciting! Seaquestria has been waiting ages to see another creature like you!"

"Queen Novo," said Rivulet hastily. "I'm the officer assigned to this case, apologies for the sudden arrival. This is Kaelynn. Kaelynn, this is Queen Novo, leader of hippogriffs in land and sea, from the greatest peaks to the deepest depths, wise and honored—"

"Enough," the queen said, waving a dismissive leg. "I think she gets the idea. Kaelynn, you said. It is my pleasure to welcome you to Seaquestria. When the Storm King was finally defeated, and we reopened ourselves to the world above, I did hope we would learn what had become of our friends below the waves. I hope a messenger like you came with good news."

Silence descended on the court. It wasn't just the queen and her daughter, who peeked out from the back of the throne and darted away whenever Kaelynn looked. There were the other fancy fish, lingering overhead. They leaned down, watching her closely. And despite knowing none of that was true, for once her officer escort was silent. Apparently being around his queen was just too much pressure.

"I wish I did," she said. It might not be a large court, or a large city—but Kaelynn liked this place. It was a shame it probably wouldn't like her too. "But I'm not what you hope. I don't come from Acampus, but from another world. Actually, I was hoping to ask you about seasponies, since I don't know myself."

She couldn't get anything else out, because the quiet of the room dissolved into muttering. Kaelynn couldn't make out any words specifically, but even their flat voices conveyed disappointment. A few were more hostile than that, wondering if she was some "changeling trick". She didn't bother trying to defend herself—just swaim in place, with the whole room looking down and judging her.

"Well that's awkward," Skystar said—suddenly right in front of her again. "We thought you were here to tell us where Acampus fish had swum off to. But you don't know?"

"I don't know," she agreed. "I'm not even from here. My friends and I—they're still up on the surface—we came to Mount Aris looking for a portal home. We had a map showing it on this island somewhere. That's the reason we came. If I knew anything about the seaponies, I would tell you. But I didn't even know what I was called until a few days ago."

The fish overhead continued their muttered conversations. She could only catch fragments—some wondering how she could sing, others why she'd bothered coming, and a few wondering if she was still somehow the key to finding the lost seaponies.

"Enough," the queen called, just loud enough to silence them. "Apologies, Kaelynn. It's not your fault for not knowing. This is why I usually make creatures wait. A few days is enough time to learn who they are, and what they're doing in Seaquestria. But the news of a seapony, it spread too fast. I had to meet you."

She swam off the throne, though there was something far more dignified about it compared to the other fish Kaelynn had seen so far. "If you're not coming to us as the representative of Acampus, this isn't the venue. There's no reason to have our conversation with so many eyes watching. Join my daughter and I in the parlor—some refreshment perhaps, and we can learn why you're really here."

She nodded eagerly. If only leaders back home were so reasonable. "I'd like that."





The next few hours passed in a blur to Kaelynn, and she spent most of it waiting for the moment when the illusion dissolved and she woke up. She was nobody—a diving welder, and petty trespasser. She'd met policemen all over the world, but not expected to be meeting presidents and queens.

If it weren’t for the long parade of insane things they'd done together, Kaelynn didn't think her friends would even believe her.

After a meal of the first food that wasn't just land stuff dumped into the water to be extra soggy, she told them why they were here. Everything, not just the carefully sheltered bits they'd told their interrogators in the navy building. It was a good thing she hadn't lied in that interview, or else things would probably be getting awkward soon.

But these people were so disarming! From the maternal Novo, to the overeager and stir-crazy Skystar. They wanted her presence here to mean something it didn't. But no matter how much she wanted to help the hippogriffs find their lost city, she couldn't tell them what she didn't know.

Fortunately for Kaelynn, the noble hippogriffs weren't as ignorant as she was.

"We're aware of the Worldgate you came for," Novo said, once dessert was finished and so was her recitation of what she'd learned so far.

"We do?" Skystar asked. "I mean, yeah. Of course we do. Worldgates. What's a Worldgate?"

"More than a portal," Novo explained patiently. "A Worldgate creates a stable connection, converting creatures and materials as they cross from one side to the other. Otherwise, the alien universe waiting on the other side would be too hostile to survive."

"Right, of course! I'm sure I learned about that somewhere." Skystar floated past the table, occasionally glancing down at Kaelynn. "Why didn't we use that while we were hiding from the Storm King?"

"I explored the possibility," Novo said. "But my scouting team did not return. Those birds were some of the fiercest warriors I knew, capable explorers. One of them had circumnavigated the globe on her own wings, and all the others were skilled and loyal."

"The last Worldgate we found led to a tunnel filled with poisonous gas," Kaelynn said, slumping slightly in her seat. "If this one is as unsafe, we'll have to move on. Why do I feel like this is turning into a pattern?"

"It doesn't seem like an accident," Queen Novo said. "I do not know how the magic works, or who originally created them. But I do know where our Worldgate is hidden. If you wish to attempt the crossing with your friends, I will not forbid you. But I warn you to look elsewhere—whatever danger waits beyond, it must be severe."

She nodded. "I know they'll want to try. We'll be better prepared this time. Maybe I could even bring masks for them." 

But something else struck her then, something that was so bold she almost didn't ask. But what if this portal failed—what if they had to journey across the world and find another one? "Please, Queen Novo—I've spent my last few weeks stuck in a tank of foul water. It was the only thing my friends could do to keep me alive. But I've noticed your birds carry a kind of... I guess it's magic jewelry. Those necklaces you're wearing. Do you think I could buy one from a jeweler in town before I go? When I arrived, one of your soldiers used it to give me legs. Having a way to go back and forth like you do would be amazing."

The room fell silent, other than the slow, distant rumble of waves crashing against stone somewhere far away. Maybe it was shaking them through the island itself.

"That is not possible," the queen finally said, suddenly stern. "The Pearl of Transformation is attuned to hippogriffs. Every piece I grant to my citizens who travel to the surface, works only for them."

"Oh." She sunk into her seat, a little deeper. The hippogriffs could still transform her when she went back to the surface, they'd already done that once. But if she left, she'd be leaving this behind. She'd be back on land, with all the joys of the ocean stolen from her. "Damn."

Skystar swam up to her from one side, grinning. "Don't be sad, seapony! You don't need pearls, you just need to sing!"

Rivulet said something about that. So did the officer who found me in the tank. They wanted to know if I knew a song. "I don't know how," she said weakly. "In all the time you spent with seaponies, did you save any of their music? Maybe I could borrow some of that instead."

Novo nodded. "We never had any of your spell books—despite all the years we've worked together, I've only ever seen ponies make seapony magic work. Hippogriffs, not so much." She stiffened, indignant. "There are some songs in the palace. I will have copies sent to you on the surface, if you give our scholars some time. It will be up to you to figure out which ones are magical, and which ones are just catchy."