//------------------------------// // Episode 138: Turn Back the Pendulum // Story: Equestria Girls: Friendship Souls // by thatguyvex //------------------------------// Episode 138: Turn Back the Pendulum  Weeks ago, Equestria, 20 miles off the coast of the Dragonlands... A faint tinge of sulfur could be tasted in the air. It made Flash Sentry want to sneeze, but he maintained a modicum of pride and held off as he eyed the landscape that filled the hazy horizon to the east. A long, dark stretch of volcanic rock jutted out into a churning ocean, forming a tooth-like peninsula from a larger, crag strewn landmass. Sharp mountains, cracked plateaus, and smoking volcanic calderas populated this bleak terrain, looking entirely inhospitable to most forms of life. However, life did indeed thrive here, Flash knew, for he could see their winged forms dotting the cloud banks of ash and smoke that hung over the aptly named “Dragonlands”. They were still a good distance off the coast, Captain Celano’s airship making good time from Mt. Aris to the south to reach their present location only after a couple of days of travel. The attack on the hippogryphs city was still fresh in Flash Sentry’s mind, as was his growing anxiety over the state of their mission. He looked behind him from where he’d taken up watch on the ship’s bow. Celano’s crew worked in a sort of sullen, gruff silence. They were being paid well for their ship and skills, but it was clear the avian humanoids that made up the motley airship crew were not thrilled at the dangerous turn of events they’d been caught up in, nor of having the company of a small but steely eyed contingent of hippogryph warriors, led by Admiral Seaspray. Yet if the airships crew were leery of the hippogryphs, the hippogryphs were doubly leery of the prickly unicorn in their midst. Admiral Seaspray and Tempest Shadow were like two feral cats locked together in the same, small cage. Any time Tempest so much as raised her head from below decks, the Admiral and his warriors looked at her as if just begging for her to give them an excuse to pitch her overboard, and in turn Tempest glared at them back as if daring them to so much as try. It hadn’t made for the most pleasant of voyages, but things could have turned out worse, Flash imagined. The fact that Queen Novo’s own daughter and niece had vouched for Tempest Shadow after the mare had saved their lives from the sahuagin attack had helped smoothing things over, at least somewhat. It had been enough for the hippogryph Queen to accept Twilight’s proposal that Tempest be considered an indentured prisoner, one who would pay off her crime of helping lead the Storm King’s attack on Mt. Aris but giving Twilight’s party aid in their quest.  Flash just wished that perhaps the Queen hadn’t been so insistent on sending Admiral Seaspray and his warriors with them. Sure a little extra muscle might be useful, but the last thing they needed was the tension. “Welp, if them dragons don’t decide ta light up our flyin’ boat, them there pair are liable ta burn holes in it for ‘em,” commented Applejack, coming up next to Flash and tilting her head back towards the ship’s main deck. There, Tempest had come up to lend a hoof to the airship crew, and was currently having her twentieth or so glaring context with Admiral Seaspray, who had similarly volunteered his help to the crew. Now the pair seemed to be competing to see who could do more work, faster. If Celano’s increasingly frustrated look was any indication, neither was actually helping very much. Flash drew in a breath and let it out slow, “Well, that’s either going to end up with them killing each other, or becoming best friends. I’ve seen that kind of thing play out a lot in the barracks back home.” “I’ll bet,” Applejack said, letting out a dry laugh before looking over the rail at the ocean below, “Just glad them dragons don’t seem ta care much ‘bout us bein’ so near their shores.” “From what I understand you girls are pals with the Dragonlord, right? Ember?” Flash asked, and Applejack gave an affirming nod. “Sure are, although that’s mostly on Spike. Ember would probably git rightful mad if any o’ her folk did give us trouble, but me n’ the gals have had run ins with rogue dragons 'fore. Dragons do tend ta march ta their own tunes, Dragonlord or no. Still, sky looks clear, so guess we’re good. Now I’m just wonderin’ where we’re supposed ta find this seapony tribe Twilight was yammerin’ about.” Flash had been a little unclear on that point himself, and it only added to his trepidation. Time was of the essence. Aria and Sonata had gone missing after the battle, and it hadn’t taken a long search of the beach to realize the pair must have been abducted by the sahuagin. Rescuing them was paramount in everyone’s mind, but they needed both a way to track the sirens and get underwater to affect a rescue, and ultimately also confront Charbydis. To do this they’d originally hoped to use the hippogryphs' Pearl of Changing, but since the human Starlight Glimmer had stolen that, their only backup option was to seek out a seapony sea witch who could teach the unicorns of the party the spells needed to survive underwater. Queen Novo had directed them to this area, where a tribe of seaponies led by a Chieftess named Wavecrest resided. Apparently this Wavecrest owed Novo a favor, and Twilight now carried a letter of introduction from the Queen that would call in said favor. They had a general location of where the tribe’s home would be, but one obviously couldn’t see it from the air. Fortunately the hippogryphs did know how to go about contacting seaponies, as long as one could get relatively close to a settlement. Flash was more worried about what might be happening to Aria and Sonata while they were busy here. Celano and Seaspray had conferred to calculate that Celano’s airship was likely much faster than how swift a party of sahuagin could travel underwater, but that might only give them a day or two at most to learn the magic they needed from the seaponies and then try to figure out a way to track where those fish creatures had taken their siren friends.  Twilight and Starlight, with a bit of help from Trixie, were working on a spell to do that, making use of scales taken from the sahuagin that had been captured at the end of the battle. That particular creature had been utterly uncooperative, refusing to answer any questions. Even when Starlight had taken off the foal’s gloves and with Twilight’s permission used potent magic to mind control the sahuagin, it had only given fragmentary answers, almost as if Starlight’s magic couldn’t quite get a proper grip on the creature’s slippery, almost alien mind. The best they’d gotten out of him had been mention of ‘Old Home’ and ‘The Deep Wounds’, which hadn’t made sense to anyone at the time.  There was a slight lurch in the deck as the ship started to fall lower, and Flash heard Celano shout, “Blast it you two scattered headed bilge rats, if you two don’t ease up on the ropes I’m tying both of you together until you either bite each other’s throats out, or start with the damn kissing!” She was shouting at Seaspray and Tempest, who’d been aiding the crew with the rigging to adjust the ship’s flight path, but had both started yanking too hard as each one tried to outdo the other. Now the pair both looked like they were chewing rocks as the Admiral thrust a wing at Tempest, “I am doing my job with capital attention to detail, my dear Captain! It’s this treacherous mare who’s pulling too hard!” “Get that filthy, flea ridden feather duster out of my face,” Tempest said, shoving his wing away, “You’ve done nothing but get on my case since your pompous flank came aboard.” “Of course. I intend to keep an eye on you to make sure you don’t get up to any trickery, wench. I’m not about to forget who led the charge against my home, and you’d best not think for an instant that you’re forgiven,” the hippogryph admiral said, and Tempest’s eyes narrowed. “Not looking for forgiveness, and ‘keep an eye’ on me all you want. I don’t care.” Celano stepped between the pair, imposing the fact that she was in fact quite a bit taller than both Seaspray or Tempest as she leaned over them and cast a cold, cutting stare at both of them. “If you two can’t do your jobs in peace, then I’m dropping you both off in the Dragonlands myself, and you can try walking back home.” Seaspray blinked, then smartly nodded, “As you say, Captain.” Tempest took a bit longer to grouse out between clenched teeth, “Fine.” Nearby, at the open hatchway to below decks, Twilight Sparkle emerged with a confused look at the tense group. She trotted over to Flash and Applejack, whispering, “Did I miss anything?” “Just our newest friends getting along,” Flash said in a deadpan manner, then coughed and nodded at the books Twilight was carrying, “What’s with the reading?” “Oh! Just studying up more on High Magic, while also ponying up on everything I could find in Captain Celano’s cabin on seapony lore and culture! Did you know seaponies have eighteen documented tribal dialects, half of which are exclusively based around sonar signals they produce with their snouts?” “Sugarcube, I ain’t never met a seapony, an’ Flash ain’t ever been ta this world ‘fore a few weeks ago, so pretty sure neither o’ us knew that,” Applejack said, “But guessin’ with all yer studyin’ ya got a fair notion o’ how ta talk ta these folk?” “A little, I hope,” Twilight said with a nervous giggle, “There’s only a bit of information on genuine language and what few words are shared between Equestrian and Seaquestrian, which while having a long ago parent tongue have split off quite a bit. Turns out being underwater really does change vocal lexicon. Luckily Admiral Seaspray does know how to speak seapony.” “Indeed I do,” Seaspray confirmed as he joined them, wiping some sweat off his brow, and trying very hard to ignore Tempest leaning against the railing nearby, “Never you fear, Princess. I shall be more than happy and able to act as your interpreter. And as soon as we reach sea level, I can also send the signal out to reach Wavecrest’s tribe.” “How is that going to work, exactly?” Flash asked, curious.  “You’ll see for yourself momentarily, young buck,” Seaspray replied, turning to snap an order towards one of the hippogryph warriors under his command, “Go and fetch the seahorn.” As the warrior threw a salute back and marched belowdecks, more and more of the party from Ponyville made their way up to watch the airship descend towards the ocean. Rarity had on a white, wide brimmed beach hat with a light blue ribbon, which she held fast to her head as the wind picked up. Rainbow Dash looked at the other mare sidelong, “Rarity, you can’t wear a hat underwater.” “I beg to differ, Rainbow. This hat is sporting a special enchantment of my own design to make it entirely waterproof! I’m not about to ignore a chance to expand my fashion business to the underwater realms. Why, just imagine it, an entire line of waterproof dresses and fashion accessories, all tailored to seapony taste. This is a whole new potential market that I doubt any other pony has even thought to try breaking into.” “We’re on a quest, not a business trip,” Rainbow Dash countered. “No reason it can’t be both,” Rarity insisted. Beside her, Trixie gave her own hat and cape a loving stroke with a hoof. “Trixie, for one, is glad you’ve thought ahead. It’d have been tragic to leave behind my trusty magician outfit once we get stuck underwater. Even I must give you praise, Rarity, for this ingenious spell. I might not have been able to do better myself. Might.” Rarity smirked at the somewhat backhoofed compliment, which was probably the best Trixie could manage. Starlight Glimmer brought up the rear of the group behind Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, and next to her waddled the stubby legged Grubber. The two appeared to be whispering to each other, causing Tempest Shadow to give her subordinate a raised eyebrow. “The hay are you two muttering about over there?” Starlight and Grubber both gave a startled look and stepped away from each other, Starlight quickly saying, “Nothing important. Just talking shop.” “What possible shop could you two have to talk about?” Tempest wondered aloud, and Grubber spoke up after an embarrassed cough. “We were talking about which kites would be best for flying in the Dragonlands, what with the hotter air and ash.” “Kites?” Tempest said, blinking, and Starlight straightened her head and looked back at her. “Yes, kites. Is that a problem?” “...No,” Tempest said, wearing a flummoxed look as she turned towards Grubber, “You’re into kites?”  He shrugged at her, “What? Everybody’s got a hobby. I’m an armature compared to ol’ Star here.” “Ol’...Star?” Tempest shook her head, “Since when did you get this chummy with everypony here?” “Not everypony, just my fellow kite enthusiast,” Grubber insisted, “Whatddya expect, boss lady? I’m not as antisocial as you. If you stopped giving everycreature the stink-eye, maybe you’d find some common ground too. You got hobbies, right?” “Not really. Ugh, whatever. I don't need friends.” "Oh boss, you just doomed yourself to making friends with everycreature on this ship by saying a line like that." As Tempest grumbled under her breath about nosy, annoying hedgehogs, and pointedly turned away from the group to glare out at the ocean, Starlight chuckled a bit under her breath and leaned down to Grubber to lightly whisper, “You’re not kidding about her. She’s really uptight.” “You get used to her,” Grubber whispered back, “She’s got her good points.” “Like what?” “Ummm... a really sweet mohawk?” Celeano’s voice suddenly bellowed out from the back of the airship’s deck where she’d taken the wheel, “Quiet down folks! We’re about to make seafall, so brace yourselves. Water’s a bit choppy, so the landing isn’t going to be like kissing flowers!” “Um, we do seem to be descending kind of fast,” Fluttershy mentioned, giving the rapidly approaching ocean a worried glance as she wrapped a hoof around the ship’s side rail to brace herself.  “No worries, if we crash, I’m a real good swimmer!” Pinkie Pie said, “And I’m pretty sure we all float.” Flash noticed Twilight’s body tense up slightly as her wings extended. He felt the same, noticing that his pegasus body reacted to anxiety with a fair bit of ruffling of his own wings. Without really thinking about it he leaned a bit closer to her and brushed a forehoof against hers. She looked at him and he gave her a reassuring nod. There were no words, either from him or her, but she returned a small, dorky smile at him and she settled down, leaning towards him a bit. The ship’s descent continued, approaching the choppy waves of the ocean below at a steady, shallow angle.  When the airship struck water there was a rough shudder through every plank. Flash felt it reverberate through his hooves. A rough spray of salty water bathed the deck, soaking many. The ship skidded along, breaking through several waves. For a moment the ship felt like it lurched down, but soon enough it evened out and despite the waters still being rough, it was clear the airship was now smoothly sailing upon the ocean with no trouble. Flash let out a breath and felt Twilight next to him do the same. “Safe landing,” he said, and she sighed with relief. “Looks like it,” she said, shaking some water off her wings, which she’d been using to shield the books she was carrying from the waves that had broken over the ship, “Now we just have to see if Admiral Seaspray can contact the seaponies.” “He said something about a seahorn?”  “Yes, I’ve read a bit about them. They’re specialized tools for sending various notes underwater,” Twilight said, nodding towards the deck hatch, “Look.” Flash did, and saw the hippogryph warrior that Seaspray had sent off now returning. He held a peculiar looking instrument. It appeared to be made from carved coral, and was shaped like an elongated sea conch, but with a widened, trumpet-like portion at one end. Multiple conical blow holes were arranged around the other end of the instrument. The warrior brought the presumed seahorn to the admiral, who took it with an exchanged salute. Captain Celano had come down to the main deck and with the rest of her crew watched on with crossed arms, “Okay big-shot Admiral, you’re on. We can keep the ship steady just as long as these waters don’t get stormy. Luckily the forecast looks decent enough today, choppy waters aside.” “No worries, Captain. This won’t take long,” Seaspray insisted, heading up to the side of the ship and spreading his wings to take flight. He didn’t go far, just a few dozen feet off the port side. There, he hovered just above the churning waters and dipped the horn into them. He then pressed his beak to the numerous blow holes and started to breath into them, playing the horn through a series of notes. Flash couldn’t hear anything, but saw slight reverberations in the water, as if the horn was somehow amplifying the notes underwater to an unnatural degree. Magic was probably at work, he surmised. He was still getting used to sensing it, but he did get a feel of a faint buzz from each note Seaspray played. This went on for several minutes, but soon enough the admiral ceased playing and flew up a bit, and seemed content to hover in the air, waiting. They didn’t have to wait long, as it turned out. Perhaps ten, fifteen minutes after Seaspray had used the horn, Applejack pointed with a hoof off the port bow, “Lookit there!” As everypony gathered up and looked to where the farm mare had pointed, Flash could see a series of colorful heads bobbing in the water about a dozen meters away from the ship. They looked like ponies, only with fin crests in place of manes, and somewhat smoother bodies that bore fine scales instead of fur. They were just as colorful as their land bound cousins, sporting every shade under the sun between their scales and fins. Flash noted, however, that these aquatic equines didn’t bear the open, friendly expressions he’d come to associate with the ponies of Equestria. Instead these colorful faces wore looks of tense suspicion and wariness. This was matched by the weapons carried glinting just beneath the waves. Flash recognized harpoons, a few tridents, and what looked like some sort of bone-forged crossbows. None of the weapons were aimed, but each was held tightly in their fin marked hooves, and each seapony looked ready and willing to use them.  One seapony in particular, a stallion with dark blue scales and a orange fin crest swam a bit forward from the pod of ten or so seaponies, looking towards Admiral Seaspray, who flew forward to meet him. The seapony spoke, and Flash didn’t recognize the words. It was a flowing, swift dialect, spoken in a brass baritone. Seaspray responded swiftly in a halting imitation of the same tongue, making several gestures towards the ship and those standing upon it. “Can you tell what they’re saying?” Flash asked Twilight. She had her snout scrunched up and her eyes narrowed in concentration. He saw her mouth a few words as if trying to parse them out.  “Almost,” she said, “I didn’t have nearly enough time to study up, but I think I understand about one in every four or so words. Uh, I think the leader there is a hunt leader. They were... hunting fish? No, land fish? Crabs! I think crabs, when they heard our seahorn. Ummm... Seaspray is telling them who I am. I think that’s the seapony word for Princess, although it more translates like ‘She Who is Daughter of Royal Blood’, which doesn’t at all actually describe what I am, but hey, that’s language for you. Oh, here they come.” Whatever Seaspray had said, it seemed to at least ease some of the seapony’s fears, for the leader made a loud trilling whistle to his pod, and they all grew less tense and started to swim up to the ship. The pod leader and Seaspray both approached and the admiral landed, looking quite pleased with himself, and giving Tempest a knowing smirk, to which she just rolled her eyes. “Been awhile since I spoke seapony, but I still seem to have to knack,” he said, puffing up his chest, “The blue fellow here is Tidesurge. Turns out we’re in luck, for he’s the son of Chieftess Wavecrest, of the Hua’hana Tribe. I think that translates to ‘Current of Prosperity’, but don’t quote me on that. I’ve explained that you have a letter from Queen Novo to give to Chieftess Wavecrest, Princess Twilight, and that you yourself are a representative of Equestria. I’ve also explained we’re on a dire quest, with time being of the essence. I think Tidesurge here may well know something, as he mentioned ‘dangers in the waters’ of late. He’s agreed to take your letter to his mother personally, while his hunting pod remains here to keep an eye on things.” “Keep an eye on what?” Tempest Shadow said, frowning deeply, “We’re not prisoners, are we?” “What? Of course not,” Seaspray said, huffing, “At least he didn’t say as much. I think he wants them here for our protection. He’s nervous about something, my guess being these blasted sahuagin.” “Hmph, not a fan of being put under armed guard,” Tempest said, but Twilight quickly held up a hoof. “It’s okay, Tempest. I doubt they want to hurt us, and even if they did, we still technically outnumber them.” Tempest looked back at Twilight, then nodded, “Fair point. But I’ll be keeping an eye on them, too.” With their new seapony escorts the group settled down to wait. Twilight busied herself with testing out some of her own skill at the seapony language with those who’d been left to watch them, while Flash stayed close to her, trying his best to follow along with the conversation. He found himself smiling at the earnest way Twilight continued to push ahead in learning more seapony words, double checking her books, and even making fresh notes. She noticed him smiling at her and fidgeted a bit in place. “What’s with the grin?” “Huh? Nothing, just nice to see you in your element. Our new pals got anything interesting to say?” Twilight glanced over the side of the ship, where a few seaponies had been floating and trying to help Twilight converse. They seemed to be fairly patient with the Equestrian Princess, helping her out with words she didn’t know, taking their time to speak slowly and concisely. Flash noted that while they were loosening up a bit, the seaponies did maintain a sense of alertness, and several of them had gone back below the water, as if to keep watch on whatever might be underneath them. “They’re worried,” Twilight said, “I’m not sure, but I think they’ve had run-ins with the sahuagin. They said that the oceans have been getting more dangerous. I can’t quite figure out the particulars, but they’re scared for their homes.” “I would be too, if an army of fish people who use freaky blood magic were swimming around in the same ocean as me,” Flash said, recalling with cold vividness the brief fight with the sahuagin spellcasters. The strange magic they’d used, sacrificing blood to summon their spells, had certainly rubbed him the wrong way. From the sour look on Twilight’s face, she felt the same. “I wish I knew what kind of magic that was. I’ve never run into anything like it. Not even Sombra’s shadow magic, or Tirek’s destructive power felt as unnatural as what I felt from what those sahuagin were casting.” Flash twitched a bit at the mention of those names, Sombra and Tirek, although he already had some notion of the context surrounding their versions in this world. “Still amazes me that your world and mine seems to have the same heavy hitters in it. Damn good thing neither are major threats in your world right now.” Twilight gave a wane smile, “Well, Tirek remains locked in Tartarus, with increased security to ensure he doesn’t escape like before. Radiant Hope and Sombra, I haven’t heard from either of them in some time, but last I knew they’d left Equestrian lands on a quest of their own, and haven’t returned since.” “Radiant Hope... huh, the Lieutenant of the Fifth Division. Weird how she’s tied to Sombra in your world,” Flash mused, rubbing his chin with a wing, “Far as I know there’s no connection between ours.” Twilight also gained a curious and thoughtful look, “There’s precedent for things not being quite the same between the two worlds. The circumstances, personal connections, and even time frame of individuals’ lives have ranged from somewhat similar, to entirely different. I never even met your pony counterpart, except for a very brief encounter.” “Ah, so there is a pony me out there? He at least got my good looks?” Flash asked, mostly joking, but going silent as he noticed Twilight’s face light up cherry red.  “W-well, I didn’t exactly get a good look at him, but I suppose he appeared pleasing enough to the eye in his armor,” she said, then shook her head vigorously, “Not that was paying attention to that! And you’re easily just as handsome anyway, so-” Her eyes shot wide, “I mean, not that I’m looking at you, either.” “Of course not,”  he stammered, “I mean, not that I don’t mind you calling me handsome, but that’s totally besides the point.” “Totally besides the point,” Twilight agreed, “Sure you’ve got an excellent color combination, and a perfectly fit, masculine body, and very deep eyes that I think twinkle just right when you laugh, and a tail end that’s mathematically perfectly shaped forrraaaaaand changing the subject now! Weather! Look, it’s sunny out! Isn’t that interesting and worth commenting on instead of literally anything else!?” Nearby, Tempest Shadow made a sound like a choking pitbull, “If this keeps up, I swear I’m throwing myself overboard.” “Don’t make promises you have no intention of fulfilling,” Admiral Seaspray muttered next to her. Fortunately the awkwardness of the situation was interrupted by the return of Tidesurge. He didn’t arrive alone, for next to him the water began to bubble fiercely and was suffused with a bright, pale green light. Twilight and Flash were thankfully distracted from each other by the sudden upward surge of water, which magically rose to form a bubbling pillar. Within the pillar was a seapony mare, whose scaled body was the color of a storm laden gray sky. Her fines, including a large and rounded crest on her head with several trailing tails, was the same orange as her son’s, and a pair of darker gray eyes looked out at the airship from within an angular but still femininely graceful face. The seapony mare wore a necklace of coral and bones, and carried with her a long staff of polished bone, bearing at the end an inset pearl the size of a fist. Suspended in the water pillar she’d clearly summoned, the seapony was deposited upon the deck by the water moving forward like an arm. There was a flash of green light, and as the water fell away, the seapony’s body was revealed to have now changed into the shape of that of an earth pony, hind legs replacing her tail fin and orange hair replacing her crest.  Shaking the water off her, the seapony now in the guise of an earth pony looked at all of the faces staring at her and inclined her head. She spoke in clear Equestrian, but with a husky, deep accent that reminded Flash a bit of something that might belong in the South Pacific islands. “I am Wavecrest, Cheiftess of the Hua’hana. I bid you welcome, travelers to my waters. My son has given me your message from the honored Queen Novo, Princess Twilight Sparkle. I have read it, and understand your needs are both great and dire. Come, let us sit and speak of what I can do for you, and perhaps what you in turn may be able to do for me.” ---------- It’d been more than a day since Chrysalis had infiltrated the strange base of these unusual imposters from another world. She had kept to every shadowed nook and cranny of the vast fortress tower, crawling along in the shape of a spider, or scorpion, or any other small creature that might elude sight as she followed those who dwelled here and listened in to what they spoke of. In so doing she’d learned of who they were and ostensibly where they came from, and the possibilities and implications were dizzying. She’d known about Celestia’s mirror portal to other worlds, but only as rumor. She’d never laid eyes upon it, let alone ever been able to confirm it was real. Chrysalis had had every intention of finding out upon her ultimate triumph over Equestria, for what could be better than finding a way to access even more worlds for her hive to expand to? But that triumph had never come, she thought with a bitter, acidic hiss. Only defeat and endless, frustrated hatred.  Well, that, and now bemused uncertainty. Now that she understood who these interlopers were, she was at a loss as to how to capitalize upon it. They were no friends to Equestria, that much was evident, so if nothing else she suspected she might find some way to take advantage of the chaos they might cause, but she was undecided on whether she should reveal herself to them. For one, she hated Starlight Glimmer, no matter what world she came from. It was irrational, some part of Chrysalis’ mind knew. It was even detrimental, a part of her chided herself. This Starlight Glimmer was likely the most reasonable of the bunch here, and probably the one best to try and make alliance with, but it was hard to get past that same annoying face and even more irritating voice! And this one wore the body of an alicorn now, due to that Pearl of Changing! How infuriating.  But even worse was the alternate version of herself from this other world. Chrysalis was utterly baffled by this... this bizarre, hedonistic imposter! She had none of Chrysalis’ poise and intellectual guile! She didn’t take anything seriously! And for some reason she followed Starlight Glimmer’s lead, which was truly annoying. Chrysalis just couldn’t get a read on this other version of herself, and thus had been spending the past few hours following her counterpart. She crawled along the ceiling in the shape of a black widow spider with a green hourglass mark on her abdomen, keeping pace as her counterpart went and explored one of the larger chambers in this fortress. As far as Chrysalis could tell, it was some manner of massive laboratory, containing various strange things, including the vast skeleton of some enormous wolf creature, and a massive, dead looking tree that bore unsavory looking fruit in the shape of skulls. Utterly strange, this “Hitsuyo-Aku”. Even Chrysalis found it a tad unnerving. Her counterpart, however, appeared to find it delightful, and was playing catch with one one of the skull shaped fruits plucked from the tree. Playing catch with another of her kind, one who looked like one of Chrysalis’ changelings, but had distinctly pink coloring to the crest on her head and a white horn instead of a proper black one. “Go long, dear Ocellus, I’m going to pitch this one fast,” Chrysalis’ counterpart said, and Ocellus, the much younger female, let out a tittering laugh and vanished with the high speed motion that left Chrysalis breathless. These strangers had impressive powers indeed. She was envious in the worst way. Her counterpart bounced the skull fruit on one hoof, then with a keen eyed look, hurled it with insane force, such that it caused a small shockwave to echo in the huge chamber. Over a hundred meters distant down the vast chamber, Ocellus appeared and caught the fruit, “I got it! Try and catch it, mom! I’m adding some pep to this one!” “Do try, my dear. Get it past me, and I’ll treat you to something nice,” Chrysalis’ counterpart cooed in a warmly encouraging tone. Chrysalis remained utterly confused. Why was her counterpart playing with one of her drones like this? What benefit did this serve? What was stranger was that her counterpart had other drones as well, several dozen that lounged around the chamber or other parts of the fortress. Her counterpart never played with them, just this ‘daughter’ Ocellus.  The name did sound a tad familiar. Chrysalis didn’t think too much about the names she handed out to her children. She had far too many to really worry about that, but Ocellus did sound a bit familiar. Whatever, she still didn’t understand this frivolity her counterpart was showing. Didn’t they have plans to conquer Equestria to pursue!? What was she accomplishing down here with this silly game of catch? It disturbed her, especially the genuine, beaming smile of happiness that Ocellus wore as she wound up her own pitch and threw a blistering curveball back at Chrysalis’ counterpart.  None of Chrysalis’ own drones had ever looked at her like that before, and it sparked an irrational flame of envy. Her counterpart laughed with an unnaturally bubbly mirth as she too used that unusual high-speed movement to zip into the path of the pitched fruit and caught it as easily as a spider catches a fly in its web. She made a ‘tsk tsk’ sound as Ocellus groaned. “You’re getting better, Ocellus dear but you’re a thousand years too early to out maneuver me. But i give you high marks for your efforts. So tell me, how are you faring with your Soul Reaper boy?” Ocellus giggled, back flipping to catch her mother’s return throw, “Pipsqueak is so much fun! He’s adorably shy, but he’s got this really cute noble streak. He’s actually scared of hurting me when we spar! Can you believe that!? So! Cute!” “Just ensure you keep him wrapped around your little finger, my daughter. Boy’s his age are prone to flights of impulsiveness and it wouldn’t do for him to act up, especially given he’s still so angry at his mother,” said Chrysalis' counterpart, flying up to a long walkway that spanned the vastness of the chamber, joined by Ocellus a moment later as she laid a hoof on the younger female’s head in an affectionate pat, “And try not to get too attached, just in case.” “Aw mom, don’t be a stick in the mud. Pip’s going to be just fine, I’ll make sure of it.” A hint of a razor’s edge entered the voice of Chrysalis’ counterpart, one that seemed utterly at odds with the warmth displayed a second ago, “I say this only for your own good, Ocellus. If we have to do away with him, it’ll hurt you if you’re too close.” “I can take pain, mom. You taught me, remember? But I wanna keep Pipsqueak, and another thing I learned from you was to always go for what I want, no matter what anybody else tries to do to stop me!” Ocellus gave her mother an eager smirk, and the coldness melted out of the visage and voice of Chrysalis’ counterpart and she smiled. “Good girl. Never let anyone tell you what your desires are or what they cannot be, not even me. Keep your Soul Reaper boy, if you can, with all your might. You’d not be my daughter otherwise.” Chrysalis just couldn’t follow this conversation at all. Ocellus was openly being insolent and showing disobedience, but this bizarre counterpart seemed... pleased with this!? Why? And why did the fact make Chrysalis feel even more envious and irritated by this blasted imposter?  Suddenly the familiar voice of Starlight Glimmer cut across the chamber, sardonic and a tad chiding, “Chrysalis, what have I told you about playing with the Plague Tree? Seriously that fruit is engineered to kill Hollows and you think it’s a fun idea to play catch with it like it’s a baseball? That thing breaks, it’d kill both you and Ocellus, and in ways I’m not comfortable describing!” Chrysalis’ counterpart turned around with a wide, amused grin, bouncing said plague fruit on her hoof like it was a hacky sack, “That’s part of the fun, Starlight. Fun should have bite to it. I keep trying to impart this basic lesson to you and you just keep brushing it off.” “Because I’m not your particular shade of crazy,” Starlight said, the alicorn flying over to join the par on the bridge. She eyed the height of the sickly, dead tree off to the side of the bridge and it’s bounty of deathly looking fruit and grimaced, “I don’t want something like that busting free into Equestria. Even if it’s designed to just kill Hollows, there’s no telling if it can mutate to kill other species. So stop playing with it.” “Spoilsport,” Chrysalis’ counterpart chided, tossing the fruit to Starlight, who yelped and snatched the fruit quickly, then gave the counterpart a brief death glare before very carefully flying over to set the fruit down at the base of the tree. “Anyway, Ocellus, I came to get you for Pipsqueak’s training session,” Starlight said, “Now that he’s turned that Asauchi into a proper Zanpaktou, he needs help regulating his spirit energy, and he focuses better around you.” “Okay, I’m on it!” Ocellus said, giving her mother a quick hug before flying off, “You two have fun planning, plotting, possibly even scheming.” Starlight sighed, watching Ocellus go, then turned a look towards Chrysalis' counterpart, “It scares me that you always seem like a loving parent, but I know you, so I keep wondering if it's just an act.” “Jealous? You should consider having offspring of your own. It’s a life altering experience." Starlight snorted and shook her head, “My life’s been altered enough, thanks. If my track record with pets is any indication, me being a parent would be a mistake, unless I found a guy who’s exceedingly domestic and could handle all that himself.” “There are such males out there, if you seek them out.” “The day I take any dating advice from you is the day I truly believe the world would be coming to an end.” Still hidden upon the tall chamber’s ceiling, Chrysalis tried to not roll her eye spider eyes at the inane banter these two shared. She could never imagine herself having such a casual conversation with Starlight Glimmer, let alone taking any interest in the blasted mare’s love life! What was with her otherworldly counterpart? It was almost as if she enjoyed teasing the straight laced Starlight in the same manner one might a little sibling. Perhaps if she was attempting to play some sort of angle, Chrysalis would understand. There did seem to be some manner of low cunning at operation in her counterpart’s mind, but it felt elusive. It was impossible to tell how much of anything this other self said was serious, or jest. She heard her counterpart’s rich laughter echo up the chamber, “Let me guess, you’re saving yourself for that dear old friend you’re so desperately wishing to save? Oh, don’t give me that glare, Starlight. You’ll ruin your lovely face. Now then, was there any other reason you came to interrupt my quality time with my daughter other than to send her off to play with the Soul Reaper boy?” “I wanted Ocellus out of the room,” Starlight said, face turning hard, “She gets ideas in her head and this is serious business. Celestia’s finally made a move.” “Hmm? And what move would that be, pray tell? If she had found our location I imagine she’d already be mounting an attack, so I assume it’s not that.” “No, but she didn’t need to find us to call us out,” Starlight replied, jaw tightening, “She knows we’re looking for magical artifacts, and she has Trixie. This has been distributed in every city, town, and backwater village in Equestria...” Starlight’s horn lit up and removed a newspaper from a single small saddlebag she wore. Unfurling it, she showed it to Chrysalis’ counterpart. Chrysalis herself couldn’t read the paper from the distant height of the ceiling, but her counterpart started reading aloud, conveniently. “Princess Celestia Declares Visit to Ponehenge Memorial Site. In an unusual and unexpected announcement, the Princess of the Sun informed officials of her intention to make a personal visit to one of Equestria’s oldest and most noteworthy historical sites, the ancient stone edifice of Ponehenge. When questioned why she was making this visit, our beloved ruler stated that she wished to show a guest of the palace some of Equestria’s natural beauty, while paying personal respects to the rumored resting place of some of our nation’s oldest historical figures, including the famous Starswirl the Bearded. Pictured is the mysterious ‘guest’, who some claim bear a remarkable resemblance to a traveling showmare known to frequent the Canterlot region. When asked further as to what promoted this visit, Princess Celestia only said that she ‘Hoped to meet other travelers along the way, and share a nice chat’.” After a moment’s silence, Chrysalis’ counterpart said, “That’s a terrible picture of Trixie. Your pet Bount looks like she swallowed a bug.” “It’s a trap,” Starlight said. “Your mastery of the obvious is breathtaking. Yet I surmise you intend to walk into it?” “She’s taking Trixie out of Canterlot. A bargaining chip. But it’s that last bit there, about having a ‘chat’ that got me thinking.” Chrysalis considered herself highly adept at reading others, and while her counterpart confounded her, she could easily read the tense yet hopeful thoughts radiating off of this Starlight Glimmer as she began to pace back and forth, “Trap or not, this is my best shot at getting Firefly help. Whatever Luna infected her with, we can’t fix it here. But I’m willing to bet Celestia knows how to reverse the damage, or remove whatever curse or poison Luna’s attack used. Celestia has to know this, too, so I’m betting this is her way of calling us out to a meeting. Discuss terms.” “Hmph, terms of surrender, perhaps. Don’t be a fool, Glimmer. Celestia is baiting you into a trap, using your ally’s injury and your pet Bount as bait. It’d be moronic to walk into it, especially since nothing would prevent them from bringing in this world’s Discord as a ringer to trap you.” “Don’t you think I know that!?” Starlight shouted in an emotional burst, “But Firefly isn’t getting better. I’m not letting her die, and if Celestia and Discord want a fight, I’m willing to give them one. That said, I’m not planning to walk into this blind or unprepared. The article says Celestia’s little trip to this Ponehenge isn’t for a few more days. That gives us time to prepare countermeasures. Hitsuyo-Aku has some nasty surprises of its own, and not all of them are too dangerous to deploy like the plague fruits are. On top of that, the Storm King is finally being useful, and I’ve gotten a handle on the Staff. We’ve got options, and we’ve got time to find a few more to stack things in our favor.” “I see you’re not going to listen to reason. Oh well, this might be fun. I would like to find out if this world’s Celestia is as enjoyable to play with as the one back home.” ---------- Pipsqueak’s blade cut a swift arc towards Ocellus, but she skipped away from the attack with a dancer’s smooth ease. The training area they were using was actually a testing ground for any weapons Hitsuyo-Aku’s researchers might have made. It was shaped like a honeycomb dome, with fluorescent lights filling hexagonal patterns along the curved walls. Plenty of test dummies were capable of being deployed into the room, and when Ocellus had first started training with Pipsqueak, Starlight Glimmer had helped as well and made use of the training dummies to get Pipsqueak gradually used to his new body. The kid wasn’t much of a natural fighter, but Starlight was patient, and Ocellus encouraging, so he’d been making progress. Of course there were still issues. He hadn’t quite gotten used to dealing with the Hollow reiryoku inside him, and his emotions sometimes go away from him. On top of that, both of them were in equine forms that weren’t they’re natural bipedal bodies. Ocellus, used to changing shape due to the gifts inherited from her mother, adapted faster, but Pipsqueak was still struggling with holding his sword using hooves instead of hands.  “Urrrgh, you always manage to dodge me so well! How do you do it?” Pipsqueak said, pursing his lips as he tried to feint to her left and catch her off guard. Since he hadn’t even quite gotten used to using either Flash Step or Sonido, his speed just wasn’t up to the task of putting Ocellus off balance, so her own Zanpaktou easily caught his own blade as he struck.  His blade, no longer a bare Asauchi, now had a more elegant curve to it, and a hilt wrapped in rich brown leather. It’s pommel had a fetching gold color, circular with a small ring on the end matching the back curve of the sword. Ocellus liked it, and couldn’t wait to find out what the Zanpaktou’s name was. Furthermore, the increase of Pipsqueak spirit energy and physical training was having an affect on the speed of his body’s development. Spirit bodies didn’t age necessarily just be the passage of time. Reiatsu affected that directly, and Pipsqueak looked both a bit taller and older now, although perhaps only by about a year. Still, thin, almost anemic limbs were filling out now with a bit of muscle, and his brown hair had grown longer and shaggier, almost to the point of totally covering one of his eyes.  Speaking of his eyes, Pipsqueak’s had gained a faint black coloring as his frustrating rose, and Ocellus felt a spike of Hollow power form him. She pushed off his blade with her own and backed up a step, wiping a bit of sweat off her charcoal brow. “Hey, let’s ease up a bit, Pip. You’re way more distracted than normal. What’s up?” “It’s nothing,” he said, turning to glare at the ground as he sheathed his sword. She went over to him and leaned her head down so she could look up at his face with an easy going smile. “That’s totally not ‘nothing’. C’mon, you can tell me what’s bothering you. We’re friends.” He looked at her for a moment, and then he reluctantly said, “It’s my mother. She keeps trying to talk to me, and I just don’t have anything I can think of to say to her.” “You’re still really steamed at her, huh?” “She betrayed everything she ever taught me! Why shouldn’t I be mad!?” the young boy said, hooves shaking slightly in his frustration, “She changed me in ways I didn’t ask for, and has taken me to a place I never wanted to be. She never asked me what I wanted, never gave a thought to how I’d feel!” “Mmmhmm, but Pip, even if she had asked you, what would you have told her? Nah, mom, don’t save my life, I’d rather die?” “Maybe!” he shouted, his eyes turning even more black as his Hollow energy rose. “Maybe none of this should have happened!” Ocellus stepped a bit closer to him, and then gently laid a hoof on his back, “Really? So you’re saying you’d rather have not met me, then?” “I...I didn’t say that,” Pipsqueak said, not moving away from her touch, “But she didn’t have a right to turn my life upside down like this and turn on our home.” “Did you ever think that, to her, you’re her home? If she lost  you, maybe she didn’t think she’d have anything at all worth protecting? Mothers are weird like that. Sure, they do things we didn’t ask for, but if they truly love us, they do it because they want what’s best for us. A mother will tear apart the world for her children, won’t she?” “Perhaps,” he said, then gave her a weak smile, “Yours, more so than mine.” “Yeah, my mom’s kinda nuts, but I love her all the same. Do you really not love yours?”  His shoulders slumped, a hitch in his throat, “I... I do. I love my mother dearly, which is why what she did hurts so much. It’s so hard to forgive her. I don’t know if I can.” “You don’t have to right now, or ever, really, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still love her. Or talk to her for that matter.” He didn’t reply to that, instead he plopped down into a sitting position on his haunches, looking exhausted. Licking her lips, Ocellus leaned down while crossing her blade over her withers, bouncing it playfully, “Hey I know what’ll get your mood turned around. Let’s blow off training for today and go play.” “No,” he said, taking a deep breath and forcing himself to stand back up, “No, I need to master what’s inside me. I can’t even think of a way forward until then. Please, Ocellus, I’m relying on you to help me.” He readied his sword again, and with a small, happy smile, Ocellus nodded and readied her own once more, “If that’s what you want, Pip, I’ll be here for you the whole way.” As they resumed their sparring match, her mother’s words replayed inside Ocellus’ mind. She knew that her mother wanted her to keep Pipsqueak close as leverage, but Ocellus didn’t care about that. She was like her mother in one very important factor; Ocellus always held onto what she wanted, the rest of the world be damned. She wasn’t planning on letting go of Pipsqueak anytime soon.  ---------- Captain Celano’s cabin wasn’t large enough to hold the entire party, so it was just the avian Captain herself, Twilight Sparkle, Starlight Glimmer, Flash Sentry, Admiral Seaspray, and Wavecrest herself that occupied the cozy room that was situated within the back end of the ship’s stern castle. Celano had folded out a wooden table and thrown out a few stools for everypony to sit upon, although she herself remained standing, eyes flicking back and forth between the room’s occupants as Wavecrest began to speak. “For many passing's of the tide, my tribe and others that call this region of the ocean home have been noticing our waters are no longer safe,” the seapony said, taping the point of her staff on a map of the oceans that Celano had spread out on the table, “From the north, all the way to the south along what we call the Warm Line, hunting parties and travelers have reported sightings of the Deep Ones, what you call ‘sahuagin’. Sometimes just a few, sometimes more. Travelers have vanished, villages losing members in the outskirts, never more than a few.” “The sahuagin have been abducting others, then?” Twilight said, her voice filled with sympathy, “That’s terrible. But it’s odd, sea trade has stayed stable. I haven’t heard any reports of ships being attacked.” “The Deep Ones have been avoiding the surface. Perhaps not to draw the attention of the powers that dwell on the land. We seaponies lack the power we once wielded in days of old. Only the largest tribes have the power to deter the Deep Ones’ abductions, but smaller tribes have been preyed upon...” Wavecrest’s eyes turned hard as flint, “Including my own. I have lost near twenty of my own over the past year alone.” “Why are they taking people, though?” asked Starlight, frowning deeply, “What do they need them for?” Wavecrest gave the unicorn a flat stare, “If the tales are to be believed, they take their victims either for food, or for sacrifice.” “Sacrifice,” Flash said, bristling slightly, “Does that have anything to do with the magic they use?” Wavecrest’s face broke out in a deep grimace, her eyes heating up with anger, “What they use is not ‘magic’. It is a befoulment upon the waters. Anathema to the very spirits that dwell in our ocean. It is the power of the Abyss itself.” “Um, w-well,” Twilight cut in, her expression pensive as she raised a hoof, “I do agree with you that there is something very wrong with the power the sahuagin used, but it was technically magic. I felt it, when I faced them. Magic was being drawn upon, but it was as if it was somehow being fueled by something more than just magic alone. I couldn’t understand it, but it felt... bad.” A tired, dry laugh escaped Wavecrest’s lips, “We do not speak of it as magic. It is an abomination of the shamanist tradition that we Witches of the Sea have used since ancient times. Our magic, when pure, mixes our essence with the soul of the ocean and draws its power to us as an ally. The sahuagin’s blood sorcery makes sacrifice of pain and death to chain the ocean to their will.” “Huh, ‘soul’, you said?” Flash mused, “Is that hyperbole or do you mean that literally?” “I don’t understand your question,” Wavecrest said. “What Flash is asking is if there’s a difference between the magic I use as a unicorn and the magic you use as a ‘Witch of the Sea’,” Twilight said, “As in, I draw upon the innate magic inside myself and the magical fields that exist in the world. Is that what you mean? You mix your inner magic with the magic field inside the ocean to generate your spells?” “Ah... semantics,” Wavecrest frowned in thought, raising her staff to touch her chest, “Magic from my heart mixes with the sea. You might call it a ‘magic field’. I call them the spirits of the ocean, aiding the call of a friend.” “But this ‘blood sorcery’ doesn’t do that?” Flash pressed, and Wavecrest glowered. “It is a perversion, sacrificing essence to take more than the spirits would grant.” “Boosting the effect of the magic fields through burning additional inner energy via a literal sacrifice from blood,” Twilight said, her tail flicking behind her in a fidgeting excitement, but also uneasiness, “When I was studying at Celestia’s school, I’d heard there were books in the restricted section of Canterlot’s library pertaining to ways one might... um... make sacrifices to enhance spells. Exchange lifeforce for a boost to one’s power, or to twist the normal rules of magic.” “Wait, isn’t High Magic like that, too?” Flash pointed out, “High Magic bends the rules of magic too, right?” “It’s not the same,” Twilight said, perhaps a little swiftly, “High Magic doesn’t require sacrifice, but instead requires significantly greater complexity and power drain from the caster. This blood sorcery is more of a shortcut to achieve a similar effect, but to a lesser degree, and I’m willing to bet with unpleasant side effects.” “This is all fascinating,” Starlight said, “But we’re getting off track. Wavecrest, I assume there’s a reason you’re telling us about the issues your people have been having with the sahuagin?” “Of course I have. You seek them, yes? A large warband attacked our friends, the hippogryphs, and stole companions of yours.” “Indeed,” Seaspray said, “Two sirens, purple and blue. I doubt you’d mistake them if you saw them.” “Sirens. Such a rare breed. Our hunters took note of them immediately,” Wavecrest said, and at the looks she got at those words she nodded, “Yes, we saw the warband that attacked Mt. Aris. Our hunters range far for our food, and one that went many miles to the southwest spotted many sahuagin, led by a massive brute of their kind. This warband had captives with them, including the sirens you speak of.” “When was this!?” Twilight asked, unable to keep her voice entirely calm. “No longer than a day ago, and that hunting party could track where the sahuagin were going,” Wavecrest said. “Please, tell us where!” Twilight said, but Wavecrest pointed her staff at Twilight. “I shall, but I wish you to agree to aid us, first, Princess of Equestria.” Starlight’s gaze darkened, “You’re going to ask favors when lives are at stake?” “Yes, lives are at stake,” Wavecrest replied simply, “My tribe as well as yours. I will aid you, but I wish the Princess’ word to lend us her aid, first.” “It’s okay Starlight, I was going to agree anyway,” Twilight said, “We can’t afford to waste time. I’ll help you and your tribe, Wavecrest, I give you my word.” “Very well then,” Wavecrest turned back to the map and once more pointed with her staff, this time marking a spot slightly to the south and a good distance to the west, “It is here that we know the Deep Ones go with their prisoners. Aqualania.” “The heck is that?” asked Flash, but Celano and Seaspray both gained knowing looks, and the hippogryph admiral spoke in a heavy tone. “I know the tales. Aqualania was once the capital of the seapony nation, Seaquestria. It was ruined during the civil war between Scyalla and Charbydis.” “More than ruined,” Celano said, “If you listen to the old sailors tales, the place is cursed... and haunted.”  “Is there any truth to that?” Twilight asked Wavecrest, who looked back at Twilight with a face of utter seriousness. “Aqualania is a dark place. A dead city, where the shadows of the deep fall long upon the broken buildings and cracked columns of what was once our people’s pride and joy. No sane, living creature should go there, but the Deep Ones find safe passage, and we suspect they use it as a waystation between their raids to our waters from the Abyss to the north. I have never been there, but my mentor has, and she told me stories. Creatures dwell in Aqualania, remnants of the monsters made by Charbydis’ dark magics. The ocean is foul and angry there, with unstable currents.” “And the sahuagin that took Aria and Sonata are going there,” Starlight said, “Great.” “But if we know where they’re going, that means we can intercept them. Catch up and take them on,” said Flash, and Twilight nodded. “Assuming we can learn to travel underwater. Wavecrest, Queen Novo said you knew magic that could change me and my companions?” “I do, and I shall teach you the magic,” Wavecrest said, “We will travel with your flying ship, and as we do I will impart the needed spells to you.” “You’re coming with us?” Starlight said. “Yes. I will join you, for there is something I want within the shattered halls of Aqualania’s royal palace,” Wavecrest said, her already firm grip on her staff tightening further, “It was told that Princess Scylla collected many items of power during her adventures. Artifacts, weapons, armor, all of great magical might. While some of these she learned to use to fight her sister, many others remained locked in her secret treasury, hidden deep inside the palace. Even Charbydis supposedly never found this treasury, but my mentor, when she explored the city as a daring youth, found enough clues to piece together where it might be. However she lost her friends to the dangers of the city and was forced to flee. Now I seek to find the treasury myself, and take the power within so I might distribute it to the seapony tribes. This will allow us to defend ourselves from the Deep Ones, perhaps even reclaim some of our kind’s lost glory. This is the price I ask for my aid to you, that you in turn aid me in finding Scylla’s Treasury.”