The Mystery of the Missing Mares

An MLP epic by Mr. Snowpony

Chapter II: A Pink Strand of Hair

Spike was lost in thought. Applejack’s confession still echoed in his ears as clearly as they were said the night before. He was still rather mad that Applejack didn’t go with the other girls to find and rescue Twilight, but at least now he understood why she didn’t.

However, that still didn’t change the fact that he couldn’t come along because Rarity thought he couldn’t take care of himself. He could SO take care of himself. He wasn’t a baby anymore. But alas, here he was, leaning on his elbow at the picnic table as he watched two of his filly friends roughhousing on the barn house’s freshly cut grass.

“No she ain’t! She used her wings durin’ that Iron Pony competition she and mah sister had! She had to cheat to win it, so mah sister is definitely better than her!”

“Since when was using your own body parts cheating?! It’s not her fault that Applejack isn’t an awesome pegasus like she is!”

A blur of orange and yellow rolled by the picnic table as what could only be described as the greatest filly fight in history raged on before its audience of two.

“Their argument is getting a lot more violent. Don’t you think we should do something about it?”

The young, white-coated filly looked across the table at her draconian seatmate, waiting for a response as she continued coloring her sketch of the four Elements of Harmony rescuing Twilight from a water beast. Spike, however, didn’t seem to hear her.

“Huh? What? Oh… sorry, Sweetie Belle. I just have a lot on my mind right now.”

“Of course I am! She was on an island that was sinking into the water. Since that isn’t really normal, I think I have the right to be a little bit concerned for her safety.”

Reeling away from the livid dragon, Sweetie Belle stopped coloring her picture and frowned at her friend, “Sorry, Spike. I didn’t mean anything by it. I’m just saying you shouldn’t worry so much. I’m sure that Rarity and the others will find her. They’re the greatest heroes that Equestria’s ever had!”

Spike heaved a defeated sigh, “I don’t know Sweetie Belle… If Princess Celestia couldn’t find Atlantis, I don’t think the girls are going to fare any better looking for Manehatten.”

“Oh, c’mon Spike! Stop being such a downer. They’re all going to be okay, I promise!”

Being in a pessimistic mood was killing him. Spike decided to just end the conversation now before it started hurting him any further, “I’m sorry, Sweetie Belle, but this isn’t really working. I think you should go stop Apple Bloom and Scootaloo from ripping each other to pieces instead. Thanks for trying to cheer me up, though. I really appreciate it.”

Sweetie Belle’s ears fell but perked up almost instantly, “Ah, that’s okay, Spike. I’m sure that when my sister comes home with Twilight by her side, you’re gonna feel really silly about worrying so much. I’ll catch you later, alright?”

Spike gave his friend a sad smile, “Okay, Sweetie Belle. I’ll see you around.”

As the filly rushed off to her friends to stop the hoof fight from escalating into a death match, a familiar mare rounded the last corner of the regularly trekked dirt road before entering the farm’s premises with an empty bag slumped on top of her body.

Applejack removed the empty birdseed sack from her back and sat right next to the young dragon, “Fluttershy’s critters sure are jittery today. They emptied a whole new bag in minutes! Must be that time o’ the year again…”

“Eeyup! Ah fed yours and all the girls’ little pets right before Ah got to Shy’s cottage. Ah also made sure to clean each o’ their houses while Ah was there. Don’t want the girls comin’ back to a dusty bed after a long, tirin’ trip now, do we?

“The only house Ah couldn’t do anythin’ about was Rainbow’s, but that’s only ‘coz she lives on that darned cloud. Probably doesn’t matter, anyways. Ah don’t think that speed nut ever cleaned her house in the first place. It’s a good thing Tank’s on that heli-hooly thingamajigger too, otherwise he wouldn’ta gotten any o’ his turtle chow.”

Applejack was playfully annoyed, “Ah meant that! But anyhow, everythin’ is finally taken care of. It was kinda reckless o’ them to just leave their homes unattended like this, but Ah guess savin’ Equestria is a bit more important than makin’ sure yer house ain’t as messy as a wallowin’ pig in the mud. Ah guess me stayin’ behind was some sorta blessin’ in disguise, huh Spike?”

Spike switched to leaning on his other arm and looked away from Applejack, “Yeah, whatever…”

Applejack gazed at the dragon despondently. She wanted to cheer him up but couldn’t think of a way to do it, “Maybe we could write them a letter? Ask them how they’re doin’ on the search.”

“That’s not gonna work! We don’t even know where they are. Not only that, they don’t even have a way to contact us themselves to keep us updated with what’s going on.”

Applejack was saddened that her idea was shot down so easily but she knew that Spike had a point. There was no way for the girls to message Ponyville or for Ponyville to message the girls in a way that was convenient to both parties. In other words, they were going by blind hope that nothing terrible had happened to the traveling party up to now.

Applejack sighed and got up from the picnic table. She picked up the discarded sack and threw it over her back again, “Ah’m just gonna throw this birdseed bag away and then Ah’ll meet ya inside for dinner. It’s best if ya scurry along inside and help Big Mac set the plates up.”

Spike slowly got off the table and started walking back into the barn house, his head hung down in depression. It hurt Applejack to see the little dragon in this state but there was really nothing she could do.

Defeated, she walked off towards the barn to dispose of the empty sack, “Girls! Quit horsin’ around and get inside! It’s dinner time!”

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, who were in the middle of punching each other, and Sweetie Belle, who was in between them, trying to break them up, looked over their shoulders and saw Applejack waiting for them near the picnic table, “Yes, Applejack!”

The girls stopped arguing and rushed into the barn house laughing, just as if the fight never even happened.

Applejack smiled at the fillies’ silliness, “Heh… if only it were that easy to forgive the ponies ya find yerself bickerin’ with.”

She looked up at the dusk sky and pondered to herself, “Ah wonder if Rainbow’s still angry with me?”

-⊕-

The following afternoon was just as beautiful as yesterday’s. All the animals were playing together. All the birds were singing in harmony. Even the cantankerous Angel Bunny was hopping around with the other rabbits.

Applejack crossed the miniature bridge and walked towards Fluttershy’s cottage. Even without their caretaker’s presence, the animals in the area were as lively as ever.

Dropping the basket from her mouth, she yelled out, “Alright, ya little critters! Ah gotcha all some more o’ that grub to stuff yer faces into! Feel free to dig in!”

Some of the animals were quick to hop towards the basket and grab their fair share of food. The rest waited for the crowd to thin before going for their turn.

It always amazed Applejack just how well her timid friend was able to teach these animals to be courteous to one another. Every animal got the same amount of food and the rest were patient and waited until there was room for them to squeeze into.

As astonishing as it was however, that still didn’t change the fact that Applejack couldn’t move an inch now, “Whoa nelly! Y’all gotta stop swarmin’ me like that, hehe! Alright, come on, come on, git! Ah gotta feed the birds too.”

The little, furry creatures were happy to comply and moved out of the way so that Applejack could trudge on to the bird houses and the chicken coop.

She removed the new sack of birdseed from her back and rolled her aching shoulders to soothe her tightened muscles, “Dang, that sack is heavy! Gotta remember to bring the wheelbarrow tomorrow. It’d make carryin’ all this food a whole lot easier.”

She entered the chicken coop first then proceeded to the numerous bird houses surrounding the garden, ladder in tow. Like before, she poured a generous amount of birdseed into the little makeshift homes before proceeding off to the next one to do the same.

Eventually, Applejack reached the last birdhouse which hung right above Fluttershy’s door, “Done! That was much faster than yesterday, too! Ah guess figurin’ out the layout from yesterday’s feedin’ helped out a bit.”

As she began descending to the ground, a grey feathered bird landed on the topmost spoke of her ladder, “Well, hey there, lil’ pigeon! Did Ah forget to feed ya today? Ah don’t think Ah’ve seen ya ‘round these parts before.”

She descended the ladder and walked towards the birdseed bag to get another spoonful for her new guest. However, the avian flew down on top of the sack and stared at Applejack, waiting for her to do something.

The frustrated bird finally flew in front of her face and showed her its talons. It was then that she noticed that there was a tiny scroll tied around the bird’s leg by a rosy pink strand of hair.

Letting the bird land on her hoof, she was quick to untie the knot with her teeth and rolled out the surprisingly long scrap of paper on the grass, “It is from Fluttershy!”

The first thing she noticed aside from the elegant mouthwriting was a slew of tiny numbers written on the top right corner of the scroll, “Huh? She marked a date up here… It was written four days ago! Well, better than nothin’, I guess.”

She quickly rolled the piece of paper up and squeezed it under her hat. She looked at the carrier pigeon that was roosting on the birdseed bag and urged it to come with her. The bird nodded and together they ran back to Sweet Apple Acres.

-⊕-

Applejack quickly trotted into the barn house’s guest room and found Spike curled up on his bed asleep.

Spike groaned as he stood up from his bed, an annoyed look splayed on his face, “What is it? I was kinda sleeping.”

“It’s a message from Fluttershy! This tiny carrier pigeon over here flew to her house and gave it to me. It was written four days ago.”

It was then that Spike noticed the bird on Applejack’s back. He perked up and enthusiastically asked his friend, “A message from Fluttershy? What does it say?”

“Ah dunno. Ah haven’t read it yet. Ah thought it would be better if ya read it for us. Ya deserve to know what’s happenin’ first.”

Spike needed no further invitation. He yanked the scroll from Applejack’s hoof and unrolled it, reading its contents out loud, “It looks like a detailed manuscript of their search. It says…”

-⊕-

Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and I rode a train out to Manehatten right after we heard about the horrible incident. We were instructed by Princess Celestia to find the city and to hopefully bring it back. However, we were only taken up to Hollow Shades, a forested town that was still about ninety or so kilometres away from the ocean. We were told that both princesses had been quick to inform most transportation units about the situation and that the train conductor couldn’t really go any farther than that point. We got off the train and started asking around for a ride until we were kindly brought by carriage down the remainder of the train tracks by a nice gentlepony named Rickety Wheel.

Once we arrived, we noticed that the train tracks had broken off at the shoreline of Manehatten Beach. The island, as we feared, was nowhere to be seen. Rainbow thought that since the train tracks should have stretched all the way into the city that perhaps, as they were ripped off and dragged down into the water, they could have carved into the sand and left a trail we could follow. She was right.

We rented a boat from a kind seaweed farmer named Scuba Doo (A/N: I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist) and we followed the trail as best as we could. We ended up farther than we thought we would and reached an island in the Griffon Kingdom where the tracks suddenly ended. We decided to stop here for a little bit to restock our boat. As we landed, it was quite obvious from the look of the locals that we were on a fisherhen island.

The island is named Birdmuda. The locals have been really nice to us which was not at all what I expected from griffons. However, I guess it was unfair to think of them like that because I only really met one before and she wasn’t very nice. They still looked really scary though.

After discussing it, we decided to go around and ask the locals what they knew about what happened to Manehatten, if anything. We learned that there was a well-known legend on this island about pony-like sea creatures that kidnapped sailors and other ocean travellers and brought them into an underwater city. They said that maybe those seaponies took our city but Rainbow and Rarity didn’t seem to believe it at all.

Then, for some reason, Pinkie Pie decided to give a party to everygriffon for being so helpful to us and because she had never had a ‘mostly-griffon’ party before. Not long after, she was knocked unconscious by one of the local griffons she snuck up on in the middle of one of her songs. He said he was sorry and that he just got surprised. We decided to stay until Pinkie Pie wakes up.

We’re sending this document off to Ponyville so that everypony will know how we’re doing on our journey and as well as to report our findings to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

The local griffons were kind enough to offer one of their carrier pigeons as condolence for accidentally hurting Pinkie. Her name is Swifty. Take good care of her when she gets there.

-⊕-

“They’re in Griffon territory? How the hay does an island disappear underwater and end up all the way out there?”

Applejack started cantering out of Spike’s room, causing the bird on her back to flutter off in surprise, “’Course we do, Spike! That’s what she asked us to do. Come on, let’s get movin’.”

Spike whistled at the pigeon and presented his own arm for it to land on. The pigeon was quick to comply and flew towards him. Spike then ran after Applejack, “Moving? Can’t I just send it to her via dragon fire?”

“Didn’t ya read the letter, Spike? Fluttershy wants us to let everypony in Ponyville know ‘bout their findin’s. The first pony we’re goin’ to is Mayor Mare.”

Applejack descended the wooden stairs of the barn house with Spike. In the living room, she saw her brother doing the farm’s taxes. Papers were strewn all over the coffee table as the red farm stallion furiously crunched the numbers in his head.

“Hey, Big Mac! Spike and I are just gonna head out to the mayor’s office then out to Canterlot to deliver a message to the princesses. Take care o’ the farm while I’m out and be sure to tell Granny Smith and Applebloom where we’re goin’. We ain’t gonna be long.”

Big Macintosh didn’t even look at his sister as he simply replied, “Eeyup.”

Spike was quick to give his own instructions too, “Oh! And can you take care of Swifty while we’re gone too? Thanks!”

The crimson-coated stallion barely had time to take his reading glasses off before he saw his sister and Spike run outside the door. The carrier pigeon that was left in his care flew right on top of the piles of papers he was doing the taxes on, rendering any attempt at work useless.

He spat the pencil in his mouth out before speaking to the tiny flier, “Um… hi?”

Swifty then picked up the top-most sheet with her talons and started flying off elsewhere in the room.

-⊕-

Applejack and Spike stood in front of the massive ebony-colored front desk situated in the Main Lobby. Behind it, an uninterested looking earth pony lowered her trashy romance novel and looked emptily at the mayor’s two new visitors.

Like a robot going off of some pre-programmed script, she stated to the two of them in a painfully slow manner, “If you’d like to make an appointment with the mayor of Ponyville, you will have to file an official request 30 to 45 days in advance of the actual date. We shall contact you no earlier than 10 business days after you’ve made this appointment to let you know if your request has been accepted or denied. If you do not hear from us after the 45 day waiting period, we shall appoint your application to our high priority list and your request cannot be denied thereafter. The application forms are off to the side and quills and ink are supplied beside them to the right. Please return when you have filled the form completely and accurately to the best of your ability. Thank you and have a good day.”

Applejack and Spike were so irritated by this pony that they were just about to strangle her when the mayor walked into the lobby and saw them.

Spike answered for them both, “We were about to book an appointment but it seems that we’re gonna have to wait a long time before we get to see you.”

“Oh, nonsense! I’m free this afternoon. Let them in, Bell. It’s alright.”

The front desk pony just rolled her eyes and went back to reading her novel. The two visitors glared at her one last time before quickly following Mayor Mare into her office and sitting down on the red plush seats she had situated in front of her large, mahogany desk.

“It’s best if we cut to the chase, Miss Mayor. I’m assuming ya already know ‘bout what happened to Manehatten…”

The mayor became sullen at the topic, “Yes, indeed. Such a devastating tragedy. I heard that your friends are going out there to try and locate the island to rescue the missing ponies.”

“That’s right, ma’am. In fact, about half an hour ago, Spike and I got a letter from Fluttershy. She sent it to us by carrier pigeon.”

Spike handed the scroll over to Applejack who in turn handed it over to the mayor, “Here it is.”

The mayor was quick to breeze through the letter. When she finished, her eyes widened and she had to confirm what she had read with Applejack, “Their trail ended up in the Griffon Kingdom?”

Applejack was confused at the sudden concern, “Is somethin’ wrong, mayor?”

The mayor gave the scroll back then stood up from her seat. She then began sifting through papers inside one of her filing cabinets to the bewilderment of her two guests.

From memory, she began explaining the situation the girls had on their hooves, “I’m afraid that this Manehatten business has turned slightly political, my friends. Technically, we ponies are not allowed to investigate on foreign soil, as dictated by Statute XVI of the Equestri-Draconi-Avian Treaty.”

The mayor sighed in disappointment, “Nevermind. Long story short, this international law states that in order for the girls to legally do what they’re doing in the Griffon Kingdom right now, they’d have to apply for an International Investigation Appeal from the closest legislative building in the area. It is only when they are approved and when they receive extraterritorial jurisdiction are they allowed to continue their search.”

“So, whatcher sayin’ is that the girls need some sorta legal documents to continue searchin’ for our missin’ city, otherwise there’s a chance that they’ll go to prison?”

Applejack smashed her hooves to the ground, “That’s a load o’ pony manure!”

“It’s law and we have to abide by it, otherwise blame will be lain on Equestria’s hooves for allowing criminal behavior in griffon territory and that’s political drama that I don’t think either princess needs right now.”

As Applejack and Spike mulled the mayor’s words in their heads, Mayor Mare finally pulled out the papers that she needed from her filing cabinet and shut it close with a kick, “So here’s what I’m going to do. I’ll try and arrange a meeting with representatives from the Griffon Embassy in Filly Delphia. Once I’ve done that, I’ll send our Legislative Speaker, William Wright, over there to discuss the issue and to hopefully get the legalities taken care of so that the girls will have nothing to worry about.”

Applejack began waving her hooves erratically, “This is preposterous! Ah don’t even think anypony out there even knows that law! Hay, Fluttershy even called the local griffons a whole buncha nice folk! Ah don’t think it’s even necessary!”

“The correct terminology is actually ‘anygriffon’ when speaking of citizens of the Griffon Kingdom, Applejack. Also, I fear it is necessary. Though a simple fishing town, it will still have a municipal government of its own and at the moment, this government has every legal right to cease and desist the girls’ ongoing investigation and to deport them back to Equestrian soil.”

Applejack started rubbing her hooves on her temples, “Urgh… All this political talk is givin’ me a headache…”

“Don’t worry about it, Applejack. I’ll get this taken care of as best as I can. For now, I think you should head off to Canterlot and inform the princesses of the situation. I, on the other hoof, will file the proper paperwork and discuss the specifics with William.”

At that point, despite not understanding much of the conversation, Applejack knew that there was nothing more to say, “Alright, Miss Mayor. We’ll be headin’ off now. Thanks for givin’ us yer time.”

Applejack and Spike turned to exit the mayor’s office but Applejack was quick to snap back around for her final question, “Oh, Miss Mayor, one more thing…”

“Are ya gonna tell all o’ Ponyville how the girls are doin’ on their investigation?”

“Oh, of course I will, Applejack! I’ll make an announcement tomorrow afternoon if that’s fine with you.”

Applejack could only shrug, “I guess that’ll be okay. I’ll see ya around now, Miss Mayor.”

-⊕-

As Spike and Applejack exited the building, the country pony turned to her draconian friend, “Ya were awfully quiet in there, Spike. Ah hardly heard a peep from ya. Ya doin’ okay?”

Spike blushed and rubbed his nape as he replied to the farm pony, “I’m going to be honest here and say that I have absolutely no clue what you two were talking about in there.”

Applejack giggled as they continued trotting towards the outskirts of town, “You ain’t the only one, pardner. Don’tcha worry though. Whatever it was we were discussin’ in there, I know for sure that the mayor can handle it.”

Spike could only stare straight ahead as he replied, “Well, alright… So, what do we do now?”

-⊕-

Applejack and Spike stopped in front of a house that was located somewhere on the north-east side of town. Nothing was special about this house. It looked very much like any of the other houses that lay row on row on this average cobblestone street. However, there was something they needed to do before going off to Canterlot that they couldn’t ignore. The ponies inside this house deserved to be told about what’s been happening outside their country these past few days, as it was personally requested by a very close friend of theirs.

The door opened and revealed a moustachioed, white unicorn. His cutie mark consisted of three flying footballs and he looked ecstatic to see his guests, “Well, hi there, neighbours!”

Before they could reply, the older stallion turned his head back into his house and shouted, “Hey, Pearl!! We’ve got visitors on our hooves!”

Applejack smiled at his enthusiasm, “Howdy, Mister Magnum. Mind if we come in?”

Stepping aside, the older stallion let his two new guests in. Though Spike didn’t know who they were visiting personally, inside, he immediately saw somepony that he did.

Applejack nodded to Spike who presented the scroll to the excited filly, “Why don’tcha take a look for yerself?”

Sweetie Belle snatched the roll of paper from the purple dragon as she unravelled its contents to everypony in the room.

The filly started reading out loud, “AHEM! To whoso… uh… whosa… whosasever… um, Applejack… what does this word mean?”

Giggling, Applejack rolled her eyes at the younger pony, “Why don’t Ah just give ya the long and short of it?”

Just then, a mare with a tall, purple mane walked into the room, “Well howdy, Applejack! What a lovely surprise.”

“Oh, hi there, Missis Pearl. Spike and Ah just came over to tell y’all about what’s been happenin’ with yer daughter. We just received a message by carrier pigeon earlier this afternoon from the girls.”

Applejack turned back to the other members of Rarity’s family who were patiently waiting for the cowmare to begin her story, “So, as Ah was sayin’, Rarity and the rest of the girls got to where Manehatten shoulda been and followed a whole buncha clues that led them all the way to the Griffon Kingdom…”

Sweetie Belle was shocked, “The Griffon Kingdom?! Are they okay? Are the griffons all being mean and stupid to them like that one that came here about a year ago?”

Spike answered for Applejack, “Actually, the girls are doing great! Better than great, really! Griffons are apparently incredibly nice. I guess you really can’t judge an entire species from the actions of just one hen.”

The young filly was pleased to hear those words, “Oh, okay then! So, what are they doing there?”

Applejack continued her story, “Well, they were askin’ around the area if the griffons knew anythin’ ‘bout that missin’ island. Unfortunately, Pinkie had to be Pinkie and scared one of them local griffons who bopped her in the head. He was really surprised.”

“Eh, nothin’ a little bed rest can’t fix. Though, Ah guess there really isn’t any point to that when she’s already out like a light.”

“Heh, she was whacked pretty hard. Don’t get those griffons wrong though, they’re mighty sorry for hittin’ her on the head. In fact, they’re takin’ care o’ her right now until she wakes up again. ‘Til that happens though, the investigation’s been halted for the time bein’.”

Pearl interjected, “So, you’re saying that they’ve stopped looking for the island?”

“Only ‘til that crazy pony gets back up again. However, this note was written about four days ago… It’s highly likely that Pinkie’s already up and about and skippin’ like only Pinkie knows how. Hay, yer daughter and the rest o’ the gang are probably on the move and lookin’ for more clues by now.”

Magnum finally found a point in the conversation he could hop back into, “Oh, speakin’ of clues, what exactly have your little friends found out so far about the island?”

“Well, Fluttershy did write that there’s this ol’ mare’s tale… or ol’ hen’s tale, Ah guess… that’s been goin’ around on that island about some strange kinda pony-like creatures in the ocean kidnappin’ loiterin’ boats. Ah personally think it’s nothin’ but rubbish but it’s the only lead they’ve got so far.”

Magnum’s wife spoke up, “Pony-like creatures in the ocean? Oh! You must mean those mysterious SEAPONIES. Why, we’ve got a picture of one of them right here in our photo album.”

The young dragon and the cowpony had to do a double take at this sudden revelation, “WHAT?!”

Pearl trotted over into the den, lost in her memories as she tried to remember exactly which photo album her picture was in.

Magnum spoke up, “How ‘bout I fetch you two some refreshments while Pearl sifts through the catalogue? This might take a while. Cider sound good?”

Spike was irritated by this, “It’s not fair! I never get to have any cider!”

Spike just grumbled and crossed his arms, “Why does everypony have to treat me like such a baby?”

Magnum walked back into the room with mugs of cider in tow, levitated in his magic aura. Spike, exasperated from the juvenile treatment, took his mug and gulped the liquid down in one quick swill.

Pearl walked out of the den with an album floating by her side, “It was from our trip to Horseshoe Bay in Baltimare all those years ago. Don’t you remember, dear?”

The stallion of the house lit up at the reminder, “Oh yeah! I recall it now. We were out on a lovely boat when you saw some weird shapes in the water. We were eating cookies before I took the picture if I’m recollecting it right.”

Pearl showed the picture to Spike and Applejack. It was fairly old as it was yellowing and cracking around the sides. What was on it wasn’t the concrete evidence the two visitors had hoped for but something definitely was in the water and it didn’t look anything like any fish they had ever seen before. They could both clearly see eyes staring out from below the ocean waves, looking very much like regular pony eyes.

“Of course you can! Hmm, let’s see… Oh my, it was such a long time ago; sixteen, maybe seventeen years ago. Why, Rarity was only four years old back then! You know, that kind of makes me feel old.”

“Seventeen years ago, mah papa drowned in the same waters. When exactly was yer vacation?”

“Three months after… Ah guess the tragedy wasn’t much news by then, was it?”

Pearl came up to Applejack and laid a kind hoof on her slumped shoulders, “We’re so sorry, Applejack. We didn’t mean to bring back those horrible memories for you.”

Applejack suddenly snapped back into foucs, turning almost rigid as she made a sudden observation, “Are the two o’ ya absolutely positive that this picture is o’ one o’ ‘em seapony creatures that those griffon critters were talkin’ to Rarity about?”

Applejack took a step forward and began circling the room in thought, “If everythin’ Ah’ve heard today is true, there’s a chance that mah papa’s sinkin’ was no accident… and if Fluttershy didn’t get the wrong idea ‘bout those griffons’ stories, then there’s a chance that…”

Applejack finally stopped pacing, “There’s a chance that mah papa’s been taken by seaponies into the ocean.”

Four collective gasps rung out within the unicorns’ home. This thought was eye-opening and all clues led to this idea being true.

Applejack turned back towards the others in the room but instead of wearing a downcast look, she held a wide grin on her face, “No it ain’t! This is incredible!”

The others were confused. There was a slight pause before Spike broke the silence, “What do you mean, Applejack?”

The farm pony was almost giddy, “There’s a chance that mah papa’s still alive!”

-⊕-

Spike and Applejack were on a train headed off to Canterlot. They had one last order of business regarding Fluttershy’s letter and they were intent to see it through.

“So, remind me again why we’re heading off to Canterlot instead of just using dragon magic to send this scroll to the princesses.”

Applejack had not stopped smiling since they left Rarity’s foalhood home. She turned to her draconian companion as she happily replied to him, “This seapony junk is really, REALLY unbelievable but Ah’m hopin’ it’s true so that Ah’ll know that there’s a chance to save mah papa. We’re goin’ to the princesses so that Ah’ll be right there when they answer mah questions. Ah want the honest to goodness truth and Ah want to see it in their faces.”

Spike understood what she was getting at but he had to warn Applejack nevertheless, “AJ, I’m happy that you’re feeling hopeful right now but I don’t want you to get too carried away with this idea that your dad’s still alive. What if we get there and the princesses tell us that there’s no such thing as seaponies, that there’s no way your dad could have survived the accident? What are you gonna do then?”

Applejack still held her smile, but she stared at the dragon blankly for a second, “They ain’t gonna say that. Princess Celestia’s been around for ages. Ah’m pretty sure she’s seen at least one seapony in her life.”

Spike gazed at his friend sorrowfully, “If that’s true, then there would be books about seaponies in the library… and there aren’t.”

Applejack’s grin wavered a bit but this train of thought didn’t deter her hope, “Ah’m sure there’s a perfectly good explanation for that. We’ll just have to ask the princesses what they know and we’ll see what we’ll get.”

Spike did not respond to this and just sat back in defeat. Looking out the window, he saw that they still had a long way to go before reaching Canterlot.

-⊕-

It was dusk by the time they arrived, the evening sun caressing the tips of the mountaintops decorating the horizon. They had reached the castle not too long ago and were now being led to the Throne Room by two royal guards, one belonging to each princess.

Spike, who had observed this, turned to Applejack, “So what Twilight said was true! At sunrise and at sundown, both of the princesses’ are on duty and so both of their royal guards patrol the castle. You see, in the morning, it’s usually just Princess Celestia’s Solar Soldiers who take guard, while at night, it’s usually just Princess Luna’s Nocturnal Knights; unless, of course, if there’s an event like the Grand Galloping Gala. In that case, the Solar Soldiers will watch all the areas that the guests are allowed in while the Nocturnal Knights take care of the rest of the castle.”

Applejack grinned at her companion, “Why, that’s awfully good book smarts, Spike. Maybe one day you’ll be a great egghead like Twilight.”

Spike, caught off guard by that remark, replied to his friend dryly, “Oh haha, Applejack. Keep that snark up and maybe one day you’ll become the Great and Powerful Trixie.”

Eventually, the two of them reached the Throne Room. Being formally presented by their escorts, the two royal guests entered the doors and immediately saw both princesses sitting on their respective thrones at the other end.

Applejack nodded, “Earlier today, we got a note from Fluttershy addressin’ the situation o’ their mission.”

Both princesses brightened up as Princess Luna exclaimed, “Excelsior! What do our searchers have to report?”

This was the infant dragon’s cue as he presented the scroll to the princesses, “You could read for yourselves!”

He held it between two fingers and blew an emerald flame, turning the roll of paper into a mystical vapour that flew towards the Solar Princess. Princess Celestia giggled at the dragon’s laziness, noting that he could have just walked up and handed it over himself.

She opened up the tiny scroll and with some alicorn ingenuity, scaled it up to a size suitable for her and her sister to read together. Quickly studying it, their expressions were indecipherable. Both Applejack and Spike were suddenly nervous.

Princess Luna spoke first, “There seems to be a quandary on our hooves. The girls have travelled into foreign waters for their search of the island. We believe this to be illegal now, is it not, sister?”

Applejack answered before Princess Celestia could reply, “It is, but we got our mayor takin’ care of it already. Ah’m not really sure on the details but she told us not to worry so Ah’m gonna trust her and say she knows what she’s doin’ here.”

This relieved both princesses. The elder was happy to say, “Thank heavens! If your mayor is confident enough that Ponyville’s legislative representative can handle this diplomatic problem, then I believe that this particular crisis has been averted.

“However, there is still one part about this letter that’s confusing me; as well as my sister, I would presume.”

“The seaponies, Applejack. Over the centuries, I’ve heard countless rumors regarding their existence. However, I’ve never seen one personally myself.”

Before she could continue, Spike raised his hand and asked her, “So, do you believe the rumors or not?”

She contemplated the little dragon’s words, “I did… for a while. I’ve had countless researchers search the waters for these mysterious beings but after centuries of looking, not even a single scale was found. I’ve come to believe that all those rumors were nothing but… well… rumors.”

Applejack was distressed by this and began arguing for the princess to reconsider her opinion, “But ya can’t just ignore all o’ those sightin’s! Even now, griffon-folk are still spreadin’ stories ‘bout them sea critters kidnappin’ their own kind. Ya just can’t tell me that ya still don’t believe they’re actually down there!”

The Solar Princess got off her throne and walked up to Applejack. The cowpony shrunk back and began cowering away from her, fearing what she was up to.

It was then that Applejack was suddenly locked into an embrace. The princess had walked up to comfort the pony whom she could see was obviously in distress.

“Shh… it’s alright, Applejack. I know. I know that you’re thinking about your father. You’re hoping that these stories are real so that you can save him yourself, to make up for all those years he’s been lost at sea.”

That was it. Applejack couldn’t hold her tears back any longer. She hugged the alabaster alicorn back tightly and began to scream at her, “Ah need to know! Ah need to save him!”

The princess didn’t want to insult the Element of Honesty by pitying her but her heart was breaking from watching her cry out onto her coat. The princess had to do something for this poor mare.

Applejack stopped shivering for a while, “But he’s been a prisoner for so long… Ah need to bring him back.”

Applejack’s crying had stopped but she was still sniffling uncontrollably. The princess thought hard for her next words of comfort.

Finally, it hit her, “I think I might know a way you can receive your desired closure.”

“Yes, my little pony, but for this, you shall have to travel far out to Baltimare and meet up with an old acquaintance of mine. He is Equestria’s best marine biologist and he headed my seapony search team. If you find him, I’m sure he can answer your questions much better than either my sister or I can.”

Applejack shifted out of the embrace and backed up in fear, “B-b-b-baltimare?”

“I know it will be hard to return to the city you lost your father in, but my friend is rather old now and he can’t journey outside of Baltimare anymore. You must go to him.”

Applejack began pacing to and fro, debating in her mind whether to follow up with the princess’ suggestion or not. Thinking hard, she realized there really wasn’t a choice to be made here.

She turned to the monarch next to her and said, “There’s no doubt in mah mind, princess. If all mah questions can only be answered by this stallion in Baltimare, then Ah’m goin’ out there.”

The princess smiled at the young mare and nodded. She began walking back to her throne and started stating the specifics of the cowpony’s new adventure, “Then it is settled. I will send a message to my friend of your upcoming arrival. If you’re going to leave early tomorrow morning, then I shall tell him to expect you in the middle of the afternoon. When you reach the city, you will find his house at the end of Mane Street near Horseshoe Bay. It’s large, white, and rectangular so it’ll be hard to miss.”

Applejack was genuinely happy again, “Thanks for all the help, Princess Celestia. Ah don’t know what Ah coulda done without ya.”

Princess Celestia humbly acknowledged the earth pony’s gratitude before continuing, “As for the other girls, I’ll worry about returning a message out to them. I’ll also try to establish a way for all of us to contact one another by the time you return from Baltimare. For now, all you have to worry about is finding all the answers to your questions.”

“Will do, princess! Ah’ll make sure to have somethin’ to report when Ah come back. Ah’ll prove that seaponies do exist and that this feller o’ yours has enough clues to lead us in the right direction.”

Meanwhile, Spike had walked up behind the two ponies who seemed to have stolen the conversation all for themselves. He coughed to catch their notice, “I’m glad that you know somepony that can help us out, princess, but you haven’t even told us what his name is yet.”

Princess Celestia was expecting this to come up in the conversation eventually but she was still hesitant to reveal to them her companion’s actual name, “I’m sorry, it’s true. I’m just protecting him from further embarrassment as he was teased for having such a name when he was younger. I’m ashamed to admit that I myself find it rather amusing.”

Applejack looked up to the sovereign quizzically and asked her, “So, what the hay is this pony’s name?”

Princess Celestia couldn’t help but chuckle when she finally said, “His name is Doctor Fish Sticks.”

The Mystery of the Missing Mares

by Mr Snowpony

A Pink Strand of Hair