//------------------------------// // Surf and/or Turf // Story: Flash Sentry, Defender of the Peace S8 // by Banshee531 //------------------------------// It was a peaceful day in Ponyville, which seemed to become rarer with each passing week. The last big event had been Rainbow and Soarin's wedding, the pair having yet to return from their honeymoon in Rainbow Falls. Everypony was enjoying themselves, just waiting for the next big batch of insanity to occur and throw them all for a loop. And it was here that Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom raced through the town, the pegasi pulling the girls in a cart with her scooter, "Excuse us!" Scootaloo yelled as she zipped passed somepony, causing them to leap back. They were about to yell at them, but then noticed the three appeared to be glowing. It was their cutie marks, the trio excited as they shot up to the castle of friendship. Zooming up to Scootaloo's home, the flightless pegasus pulled her scooter to a stop as her friends leapt into the castle, all sprinting to the map room. But as they got close, they saw two ponies waiting for them. "Flash, Twilight!" Scootaloo exclaimed as her brother and his girlfriend spun around, the three then yelling in unison. "WE'RE GLOWING!" Twilight giggled at their excitement, "That's what happens when you're summoned by the map." "And you know what that means," Flash added as the girls all nodded. "Somepony needs our help?" Sweetie asked. "We're being called by the Map?" Applebloom exclaimed in excitement. "Did I mention we're glowing?!" Scootaloo continued, Twilight laughing while Flash leaned against the table. "I know you're all excited, but you've gotta understand that this is a big responsibility." The girls all vibrated at this, only for Flash to point at them, "The map is entrusting you to help a pony, or multiple ponies, fix a problem they're having. I know helping ponies is literally your calling in life, but it's still something you have to understand is very important." "We understand," Applebloom replied before raising her hoof, the others doing the same. "And we swear on the name of the Cutie Mark Crusaders that we won't mess around or goof off!" "We swear!" The other two yelled, making the older ponies chuckle, only for the girls rushed to look over the map, "So, where exactly in Equestria are we needed?" "Actually, where you're going isn't even in Equestria." Twilight pointed to the opposite side of the map, where the CMC cutie marks were circling a high mountain of some kind. "Wow!" Sweetie whispered, "That's almost...off the table!" "But what's way out there?" Applebloom asked, Twilight showing her a big smile in response. "Mount Aris, the home of the Hippogriffs! And that's where you're headed!" The three fillies all stared at the mountain in amazement, all giving off the same 'whoa' as they did so. They had heard of Mount Aris from their siblings' adventures outside Equestria. The place had been a ghost town...kingdom, when they were there last. The three couldn't wait to see what it looked like now. "We'd better go get packed," Sweetie cheered, "We need to get there as soon as possible." "YEAH!" The girls finished before running out of the room, leaving the two older ponies behind. "Think they realize we're coming with them?" Flash commented, Twilight letting out a giggle. "They'll figure it out when they see us at the train station. Besides, it's not like we're foalsitting 'em. We had to go to Mount Aris anyway since Silverstream needed her permission slip signed." "Remind me again how that didn't get done when all the other non-ponies had theirs' signed." "Honestly, I'm not sure. But I refuse to let any of my students miss out on experiencing a fun and educational fieldtrip just because of a technicality." She then looked giddy. "Besides, this gives us an excuse to properly check out Mount Aris and see how well the hippogriffs are fitting back into their old ways." Flash let out a guffaw, "Now there's the Twilight I know and love. Plus, we can kinda use this as an excuse to have some fun. Our last vacation wasn't exactly one we got to enjoy, and things have been insane week after week since then." "Agreed," Twilight magicked up a list, "Starlight has agreed to take over my classes until we get back. You think Springer will be okay filling in for you?" "You kidding? That jakhowl's been eager to try his paw at teaching my class for ages. Can't wait to get back and see if he manages to do it, or is completely in over his head." "Which do you think will happen?" "Hmmm..." Flash rubbed his chin at this, "I think he'll do fine. I mean, he got Ace to cooperate." "True." Twilight finished as they began to walk out of the room. But as they left, Fire Heart ran up to them, "Hey, is it true that Scootaloo's going to Mount Aris on a friendship mission?" Twilight nodded back, "That's right. She, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom were all called by the map to help somepony there." "Oh, COME ON!" Heart yelled, "Why is everypony getting to go on a friendship mission except me?! Soul, Spike and now Scootaloo?! I'm the only one who lives here that hasn't been called!" "Springer and the jakhowl cubs haven't been called either," Flash pointed out. "Though if they were, I've gotta wonder what would start glowing. Maybe those spikes on their paws?" Twilight then patted Heart on the head, "I know this feels like you're being singled out, but the map chooses who it chooses for a reason. I'm sure when it finds a pony it thinks you can help, it'll pick you." Heart let out a grumble, only for Flash to ruffle his hair, "Besides, I need you to stick around here. With me gone, Ponyville will be one protector down. I need somepony to help out if anything happens while I'm gone." This got Heart to smile, Flash winking at him before they walked away, ready to start their new task. Three hours later... Sweetie and Applebloom were walking up to the train station, Sweetie carrying two suitcases in her magic while Applebloom had one case balanced on her back. "This is gonna be so great!" Applebloom cheered, "The Cutie Mark Crusaders, off on a whirlwind adventure to a place very few ponies have ever been to solve a problem!" Sweetie nodded back, "We could end up fixing a problem that gets written about in hippogriff history, meaning we would go do in hippogriff history!" That got Applebloom even more excited, only to go wide-eyed as they saw two ponies standing near the train, "Flash, Twilight?" "What are you two doing here?" Applebloom asked as the whistle of the approaching train filled the air. "We're coming with you," Flash replied, the two flinching at those words, "What, you think we'd let you three travel way outside of Equestria all on your own?" "WHAT?!" The girls yelped, both dropping their bags as the train pulled up to the station. "Come on," Flash chuckled, "Rarity and Applejack would kill us if they found out we let you go to a place so far away." The girls frowned at this as the passengers on the train began to get off. "You two really don't need to come with us," Sweetie responded, "We can take care of this mission just fine on our own." Applebloom nodded in agreement, but then heard a loud 'yeah' and looked down the platform to see Scootaloo racing up on her scooter. But as she did this, a train worker was pushing a bunch of cases on a trolley, accidently hitting her. The case mountain collapsed on her and the other girls, making Flash and Twilight flinch as the CMC were buried in a mound of clothing. Sweetie was at the bottom of the pile, the filly spitting out a scarf. Flash fought back a laugh as Twilight used her magic to free the girls and repack the cases. "I know that," Twilight commented, "But I'm not so sure the ponies who care about you want you going off so far on your own. Besides, there's some school business we need to take care of on Mount Aris." She took out the piece of paper Silverstream had sheepishly returned unsigned, "This permission slip is for Silverstream. It's very important that her mother and father sign it, or else no field trips." "You both need to go in order to do that?" Applebloom asked, causing the older ponies to blush as Scootaloo leaned over to her friends. "Sounds like somepony just wants a vacation." They all giggled at this, making them blush even harder. "Easy," Flash growled, "I might not be able to stop you from going on this mission, but I can ground you when we get back." That shut Scootaloo up while the other girls continued to laugh. "Okay, yes," Twilight put the permission slip away. "I have been wanting to visit Mount Aris ever since the Hippogriffs moved back. But it's purely research." The girls smirked, knowing what 'research' really meant. "Silverstream's brother is gonna meet us there and take us to their houses." "Really? They have more than one house?" "I guess so," Twilight replied, "The social structure of the Hippogriffs and seaponies is a bit of a mystery." "All aboard!" The conductor then yelled behind them. "Last stop, the new Mount Aris Station!" They heard many ponies around them chatter in interest, all looking forward to seeing what Mount Aris looked like. This included the CMC as the five of them climbed aboard. The trip to Mount Aris was quite a long one, but none of the passengers were at all bored. All excited to see the fabled hippogriff homeland, that excitement increased when Applebloom began to tell the tale of how the hippogriffs were forced to flee underwater and become seaponies when the Storm King attacked. And as she finished the story, which ended up being a little slenderized to make Applejack look more important than she was, the overhead speaker spoke up that they were now arriving at Mount Aris. The group rushed to the windows, marveling at the sight. Flash and Twilight also looked out, happy to see how different the place was from the last time they had been there. The train was currently rolling over the land bridge that connected Mount Aris to the mainland, which was now completely different. The last time Flash and Twilight had been there, the section of the mountain had been completely empty, but now multiple buildings had been constructed, including a train station. "Guess it makes sense," Flash commented, "They spent so long under water that some of the hippogriffs never lived on Mount Aris." Twilight nodded, "Of course they would want to live closer to the sea." The train pulled up and everypony disembarked, with Flash, Twilight and the CMC stepping out of the carriage. "Alright," Sweetie glanced around. "So what kind of cutie mark-related friendship problem do you think we're supposed to solve?" "I don't know," Twilight replied, "But Hippogriffs don't have cutie marks, so it might not have anything to do with that at all." The CMC stopped at this and glanced over at some hippogriffs that had been on the train with them, noticing their rather blank flanks. "Huh..." Applebloom hummed. "Still, the map did call us, so it must be a kind of problem that only we can solve." The other two nodded as they all raised their hooves high and clapped them together. "GO CRUSADERS!" "But how do we know exactly who we're supposed to help?" Scootaloo smiled at this and winked before clearing her voice. "Attention, please!" This caused everyone on the platform to turn to her, "Anygriff here have a problem?" The hippogriffs responded by shaking their heads and walking off, all looking rather happy with their lives at that moment. "Eh," Scootaloo turned to the others, "That's all I got." Flash facehoofed as Applebloom turned to Twilight. "Maybe if the map could be a little more specific about our mission, like maybe...an address?" This made the older ponies laugh. "Rookies," Flash chuckled as Twilight shook her head. "The map doesn't really work like that. But I'm sure you and whoever needs help will find each other." "How?" Sweetie asked, "Will the map send them a mental message telling them we're here? Because if it can do that, why can't it tell them how to fix the problem themselves?" This made the older ponies laugh again. "It's not that simple," Flash replied, "From past experience, we've learned that the problem you're sent to find normally just shows up on its own. Let's focus on what me and Twilight came to do, and if that doesn't help you find the problem, we'll start doing a more thorough search." The girls all nodded back, the group soon making their way off the station. The building was right next to the beach, the group then hearing a splashing sound followed by a voice. "Excuse me! Miss Sparkle?" They all turned to the voice, "Over here!" Out in the ocean was a seapony they recognized from Heart and Soul's tale about their time in Seaquestria. "Sorry I'm late." "You're Terramar, right?" Flash asked, the seapony nodding as Applebloom turned to her friends. "A Hippogriff can have a seapony for a brother? How does that work exactly?" "Shhh!" Sweetie hissed, "It's rude to ask a question like that!" But in that moment, a bright light filled the air and they looked back to see Terramar being wrapped up in a cocoon of magic. When it faded, the seapony was replaced by a hippogriff version of him. "Whoa!" Scootaloo gasped as Terramar flew over and landed on the pier behind them. "Can I ask now?" Applebloom asked as Terramar chuckled. "It is kind of strange," Terramar nodded, "See, after the Storm King was defeated, the seaponies didn't have to hide anymore. So, some of them changed back to Hippogriffs and went home to Mount Aris." Twilight then continued, "But others got used to living under the water and stayed in Seaquestria." Terramar nodded. "And me? Well, I kind of go back and forth with this." He pointed to his neck and the ponies saw he was wearing a necklace similar to the one Silverstream wore, that had a tiny pink gem shard on it. "It's a tiny piece of the magic pearl. It was split up among our kingdoms." The CMC all stared at it as Flash looked at the gem and was reminded of something. "I don't wanna sound negative, but did Queen Novo get that idea from Wingill?" Terramar frowned at that, the name of the traitor making him scowl, "Yeah. The gem shard was stolen by him a long time ago, but when Queen Novo heard your story about him, she realized the pearl could still work over a long period of time even after being split up." "Well, I guess some good came from his betrayal," Flash added, the others glancing back and forth. "Well," Twilight coughed into her hoof, "I'm pretty eager to see the Hippogriff village. You know, to...get this form signed." She showed them the form as she stuttered out, "And...research! So..." She walked off, Flash following her as the younger ponies trotted behind. "Hey, Terramar?" Applebloom turned to the shapeshifter, "Does anygriff you know up there have a problem they need help with?" Terramar's first response was to laugh. "On Mount Aris?" He shook his head. "No. Everygriff is pretty happy up there." They all looked up to the mountain, which was much more vibrant looking than it had been the last time Flash and Twilight were there. Terramar then let out a happy sigh, "It's a great place to live." The journey up the mountain didn't seem as long as the last time Flash had been there. Maybe it was because the last time he had travelled up it he had barely slept in three days, running on an empty stomach and had still been suffering from Corrupted Shadow poisoning. This time it was quite a lovely stroll, the view being worth the climb as they arrived at the hippogriff village, finding the place to be as lively as one of Pinkie's parties. The formerly overgrown greenery had been pruned back, but enough was left to give it life while the houses had been repaired, repainted and had every piece of dust and cobwebs removed. Multiple hippogriffs were enjoying themselves, with some of the youngest chicks running around laughing while the older ones talked and enjoyed an assortment of foods and drinks they had likely been starved of during their time underwater. Things certainly were different from the last time they were there. "Wow..." Twilight gasped, "This looks amazing! Last time I was here, it was a ghost town!" "We were worried the Storm King had already gotten to you all," Flash nodded. "It's great to see the place looking so lively." "Yeah," Terramar chuckled, "Queen Novo thought it was important to return our village to its former glory." As he said that, Flash noticed a hippogriff raising a flag that blew in the wind. At the same time, several hippogriff began to play horns as a blue one in ceremonial armor flew down and landed next to the post. "And now," he announced. "I officially open the 'Glad to Be a Hippogriff' Festival!" Two hippogriffs blew their horns as the others cheered, looking like somepony had just announced Heartswarming and Hearts and Hooves day was gonna be tomorrow. Another armored hippogriff stepped up and the pair bowed before shooting into the air, both flying around and playing some kind of game the ponies didn't quite get. "Wow!" Scootaloo exclaimed, "We picked a good day to show up!" "Not really," Terramar responded, "We do this every weekend. Hippogriffs really like being Hippogriffs." Another loud cheered filled the air as the two hippogriffs landed, the blue one turning to them. "There's my boy!" He ran over, Terramar smiling back. "Hi Dad." The pair hugged as the hippogriff looked him over. "Haven't seen you in days, son. Wish you'd come around more often." He ruffled Terramar's head feathers, Terramar shrugging back. "Oh!" He pointed to the ponies, "Dad, these are some of Silverstream's friends from Equestria. They came up to-" He stopped when the hippogriff gasped. "Princess Twilight Sparkle!" He let out a super loud screech, causing the ponies to all cover their ears as the other hippogriffs turned to them. "Attention, everygriff! Princess Twilight Sparkle is here! She's Silverstream's teacher!" This caused a lot of gasps from the hippogriffs, all quickly racing over. "Hey!" Flash yelped, "I'm her teacher too." "Of course," the hippogriff nodded, "How could we not know of the great Flash Sentry?!" The pegasus smirked at this as the hippogriffs all surrounded the pair. "Here to take in the marvel that is Mount Aris, your Highness?" "Absolutely!" Twilight cheered before taking out the permission slip. "And to have you sign a form for Silverstream." "Glad to!" The hippogriff replied, "But first, let's show our guests some real Mount Aris hospitality! To the refreshment tent for a thing of salmon juice!" The hippogriffs all nodded and began to head off, Twilight and Flash following before the princess glanced back. "Looks like its research time. See you three later! And good luck! I know you'll find your mission!" They nodded as the two followed the hippogriffs, Flash calling out over his shoulder. "Just don't do anything that might cause problems!" The girls nodded again as they all headed for the refreshment tent. As they walked in, they stared at the food before seeing Terramar's father fill a trio of cups with a pink liquid. "Here," he gave them both a drink, "Salmon juice to get you in the festival mood." Flash and Twilight both frowned as they looked down at the aforementioned juice. Being ponies, they very rarely had anything that wasn't plant based. The only products they regularly ate that came from animals were eggs and milk, but Flash just shrugged. "Eh. Bottoms up," Flash and Twilight clicked their cups together before swigging the drinks down. As soon as the liquid flew down their gullets, they both felt an overwhelming urge to chuck it back up. But, not wanting to be rude, they managed to swallow. "It's...unusual," Twilight told the hippogriff, "Hippogriffs certainly have an interesting diet." "Oh yes," he nodded. "You can thank our bird heritage for that. In ancient times, the first hippogriff would fly over the ocean and scoop up fish to eat and feed to our young. Why do you think we have these amazing claws?" "Oh..." the two slowly replied, putting their half empty cups down. "So uh..." Flash began before trying to shine a small smile, "Sorry, I don't think we ever actually got your name." "Sky Beak," the hippogriff replied. "Nice to meet ya. So, how are you all enjoying being back above the water? After so long under the sea, returning to the land must have been tricky." "Oh, it was for some of us. Why do you think so many of the hippogriffs made their new homes down near the beach? But for me, it was an easy decision to make." He swigged down his salmon juice and sighed. "I was one of the last hippogriffs to head down under the water when the Storm King arrived. For years after then, I longed to be back above the water. But I knew doing so would put everygriff in danger of being discovered." Flash and Twilight nodded at this, "But now you won't ever have to worry about having your home attacked ever again. Now that the hippogriffs have joined the U.F.C." Flash smirked at the mention of the federation, his idea having been quickly adopted and made the new name of the alliance between ponies, changelings, dragons, jakhowls and hippogriffs, with the yaks and hopefully griffons soon to join as well. "If anypony ever tries to force you to surrender, know that Equestria will be there to help." "And that makes us all very happy," Sky Beak added as the hippogriffs around him cheered. "Now princess, why don't you join us for a few games? I'd love to see how well ponies stack up against hippogriffs in horse toss." Twilight excitedly nodded and they all headed off. Flash stayed at the tent and licked his lips at the sight of some spring rolls, the pegasus grabbing one. He took a large bite out of it, only to spit it out. "Augh!" he moaned, "What kind of spring rolls are these?" "Sushi," the hippogriff at the stall smiled while Flash frowned. He threw the rest in a nearby trash can and walked out of the tent, only to spot a blue hippogriff with a yellow and pink mane and tail. "Soft Current?" The hippogriff turned to him and smiled. "Mr. Sentry," the mother of one of his enemies flew over to him. "It's so good to see you." "It's good to see you too," Flash responded, "I was wondering if you decided to come up to Mount Aris or stay in Seaquestria." Soft let out a small sigh at this, "My son was so determined to see what this place looked like that I...I realized I had to come up and try to make a place for him to live if he ever returned." Flash grimaced at this, only to reply, "Well...I'm sure that when he returns, you'll have a great home waiting for him." Soft nodded at this before Flash heard a roar of cheering, the defender turning to see Twilight celebrating, "Somepony's obviously having fun." "So what brings you to Mount Aris?" Soft Current asked next. "Well, the official reason is that we need Silverstream's parents to sign a permission slip for her," Flash replied, "Another is my sister and her friends were summoned to this place to do an important task, and they needed somepony to keep an eye on them. But mostly, I'm hoping Twilight and I can have some fun. Being the embodiment of friendship, protectors of the realm and leaders of a school can be pretty stressful sometimes and...well, you just need to enjoy yourself ever once and a while or you'll end up burning out." "I understand completely," Soft nodded, "I'm sure you and the princess deserve as much fun as you can handle. But if you need both parents to sign the permission slip, you're gonna have to get wet." "Huh?" "Ocean Flow, Silverstream's mother, is a seapony of Seaquestria." "Ah. So that's what Silverstream meant by houses." He put his hoof to his chin, "Wait, how can Sky Beak and Ocean Flow live in two different places? Aren't they married?" "They were," Soft sighed, "But when it came time to decide where we wanted to live, the two chose to go their separate ways." "I can't believe they would do that." Flash spun around, his eyes staring at the Twilight, "I don't think I could ever leave Twilight. If they loved each other, they should have made it work somehow." Soft shook her head, "Life isn't that simple. Sky Beak and Ocean Flow did love each other. And that's why they had to let the other go." Flash raised an eyebrow at this. "Sky Beak knew how much Ocean Flow loved living in Seaquestria, and Ocean Flow knew Sky Beak longed for Mount Aris again. They realized that even if they were together, one of them would never be truly happy living in the other's chosen realm. That's why they chose to go their separate ways. Because if you truly love something or someone...you have to be willing to let them go so they can be happy. And they are." Flash let this information sink in, hearing another cheer from Twilight as she won the ring toss. "I'm not sure I could do that." "Very few would," Soft giggled, "And I hope you and your loved one are never put into that position." As she said that, she heard somegriff call out her name and turned to smile at them. She gave Flash a nod and a hope that he'll come again before flying off, leaving Flash to head over to where Twilight was. "Flash!" Twilight cheered as she held a trophy in her magic, "Check it out." "Nice," Flash chuckled, "Now you finally have something to put on your physical activities trophy shelf. That third grade participation trophy was probably getting lonely." "Funny," Twilight grumbled, "Anyway, I got Sky Beak to sign the permission slip. Once we have Silverstream's mother sign it, we'll be able to enjoy ourselves until the girls finish their mission." "Well luckily, I managed to locate her. Although...you might wanna cast a spell to make the permission slip water-proof." Twilight raised an eyebrow at this, "She lives in Seaquestria." "Oh. So that's what Silverstream meant by houses." "Yup," Flash nodded, "That probably should have been obvious now that you think about it. Let's go check on those three first though." Twilight nodded back as they started to walk away, the pair asking around about the CMC until one hippogriff said he spotted them heading for the Harmonizing Heights. Getting some directions, the pair flew off, soon hearing a beautiful melody fill the air. "Wow..." Twilight whispered, "Do you hear that?" They then reached the area, glancing down to see a giant open plain located at the very top of the mountain. The land was covered in grass and trees, with crystal clear streams running through it, but no source of the music. And as they continued to fly, they spotted the CMC along with Terramar. They swooped down next, only to see Sweetie looking annoyed at something the others had said before turning to leave. The pair then landed in front of them, Twilight having a wide smile on her face. "Hey, everypony! This festival is fantastic! Look what I won at the ring toss booth!" She held up the trophy, her excitement obvious until she realized who she was talking to before putting it away. "Ahem. But of course, I'm really here on business." She pointed at Terramar, "Sky Beak's already signed the form. Now I just need your mom's signature." "Um," Applebloom held up a hoof, "She's a seapony...in Seaquestria." "We know," Twilight replied, "But we can't get underwater without a hippogriff. Plus, we don't know where the house is." Terramar nodded back, "If you'd like to meet my mom, we're just heading down there now." Twilight smiled at this as Applebloom raised an eyebrow, "And how exactly are we gonna visit underwater?" "The same way we visited them last time," Flash responded, "Although..." he pointed at the pearl fragment, "Will that small piece be strong enough to change us all?" "It shouldn't be a problem," Terramar replied, "It probably can't change every hippogriff like the full pearl once did, but the six of us shouldn't be an issue." Flash and Twilight nodded while the girls looked excited, confused and nervous about transforming into an entirely different species. "Don't worry," Twilight assured them, "The transformation process is completely harmless and when it's over, it'll be like you put on a tail costume to go swimming in." Instead of heading through the village and walking all the way down the mountain again, Twilight teleported them all back to the beach. "Whoa..." Terramar stumbled back, "That was weird." "You get used to it," Flash sighed. "Alright..." the hippogriff shook his head before stepping into the water. The others followed him in, the water feeling rather warm despite being the ocean. Once they were all soaked, they swam over to Terramar as the hippogriff held out his claw. One by one, they all joined hooves as Scootaloo grabbed Terramar's claw. He then touched the pearl shard and as he did, it unleashed a burst of magic that flowed from him, to Scootaloo to Flash to Twilight, to Applebloom and finally to Sweetie. In a flash of light, they were all transformed, their back hooves and tails merging into a large fish tail while their bodies became less buoyant, causing them to sink. The girls all tried to hold their breath, but seeing the others happily breathe caused them to open their mouths. "Wow!" Scootaloo cheered as she started swimming around, giggling as she swam through some seaweed. "Woo-hoo!" She swam back to them as Flash joined her in swimming in circles around the others, "Yeah!" She giggled before stopping and grabbing her tail "Whoa! This must be just like flying! Woo-hoo!" She twirled around and Flash laughed. "I guess it is." Applebloom turned to the hippogriff, "Where's your mom's house, Terramar?" "Come on," he gestured to them, "It's this way." They soon followed, Scootaloo continuing to cheer as she enjoyed swimming like never before. Flash looked around and got a strange sense of deja vu as he looked around. "This place seems familiar," he commented before snapping his hoof. "Right, I didn't really get a good chance to see it last time. This is the area Queen Novo sent us through when we...were...uh..." he glanced over at Twilight. The alicorn realized he was about to say when they were banished after she attempted to steal the pearl, the princess blushing at this. They soon arrived at the underwater cavern that housed the seaponies of Seaquestria, the CMC gasping at the sight, especially of the giant castle that hung from the ceiling. Flash and Twilight also noticed there weren't as many buildings as the last time, guessing some had likely been removed or even taken apart and sent above ground to be used to make the hippogriff homes. Another difference from the last time was how lively the place was. No longer were the seaponies hiding behind rocks or not daring to make a sound for fear of being discovered, most now out in the open and all laughing as they played or talked. Terramar led them up to one of the houses closest to the castle, Flash and Twilight realizing this made sense given Terramar was related to the queen. He pointed at the house as they got closer and opened the door, the group looking inside and seeing a yellow seapony with pink fins. "Mom!" The seapony turned and gasped at the sight, "Terramar!" She pulled him into a hug. "Welcome home, baby!" When they pulled away, she pushed her finned hoof into his snout. "No excuses. This time, you're staying for dinner." Terramar chuckled at this before turning to the others. "Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, this is my mom Ocean Flow." He gestured to the adults, "And this is-" "Princess Twilight Sparkle!" Ocean Flow gasped before swimming over, "And Flash Sentry as well. What an honor! You know, Silverstream just raves about you two. Your Courage lessons are some of her favorites." Twilight smiled back. "Well, she is one of our most hardworking students. In fact, I brought this form for you to sign so that-" "Both my children are so smart," Ocean Flow exclaimed as she took the permission slip. "Would you like to see their baby pictures?" "MOM!" Terramar screeched, the others all laughing. "Oh, that sounds adorable! I'd love to!" Twilight replied before glancing over at the others. "And you know, to find out about aquatic pony early development and, uh..." The girls giggled, "Research." "Oh," Ocean Flow gestured to the table beside them. "Well, maybe your friends would like a snack while we're gone? Some kelp chips? Fish oil tea?" "Fish oil tea?" Flash asked, "Underwater? How the heck does it not float away?" Twilight laughed at this, "Not all liquids are the same Flash. Some liquids are denser than others, so they sink. Heck, there can be entire bodies of water underneath the water. A lake under the ocean." "Yes," Ocean Flow nodded, "In fact, we have such a lake not too far from here. Our soldiers use it train and strengthen their swimming abilities. If you can swim through that, swimming through normal water is a piece of cake." She turned to the table, "Speaking of cake, would you all like some seaweed cake?" "No thanks, Mom." Terramar gestured for the others to follow. "I'm gonna go show them around." Ocean Flow nodded as the four younglings swam outside, leaving the adults to move over to several couches that were nailed to the floor. Flash and Twilight both tried to sit down, only to find themselves floating off it. "Blast it!" Flash grumbled, swishing his fins around to push him back to the couch. "How are you supposed to relax when you could float away at any moment? Heck, how do you go to sleep without floating out an open window?!" Ocean Flow giggled at this. "Yes, it was a bit of a challenge when we all first came down here. But over time, we got used to it. You naturally learn how not to float away. But my couch has seat-belts if you want some help." The ponies grabbed the belts sticking out between the cushions, soon strapping themselves in, "And to answer your other question, seaponies sleep in special beds that have lids we can lock into place. Most of the time, they're designed like clams. Would you like to see?" "We're good," Twilight responded, "But we would like to see those baby pictures." "Yeah," Flash smirked, "I'll enjoy teasing Silverstream about it back home." Ocean Flow nodded and swam out of the room, returning a moment later with a thick book. She sat between them and opened it up. "Aww," Twilight squealed, seeing a baby picture of Terramar and Silverstream. "They are so adorable." "Aren't they?" Ocean Flow smiled as she turned a page to show them another one. "You should have seen it when they were first born. Silverstream started swimming within days. She couldn't do it properly mind you, but she was always trying to learn." "Nice," Flash nodded before an idea formed in his head. "Not to be rude, but how exactly do seaponies reproduce? I'm guessing hippogriff lay eggs. Is that the same for seaponies?" "In a way," she responded, "Do you know how most fish reproduce?" Twilight nodded. "The female lay a clutch of eggs and the male fertilize them." "Yes, only we seaponies lay but one egg, maybe sometimes two or even three. The egg is kept in a special container that they incubate within until it's time for them to hatch." "So...you don't have to sit on them?" Flash asked, "Although I guess that would be kind of difficult." Ocean Flow laughed at this. "You do need to keep the egg safe. It can't be moved around too much and the water around the incubator needs to be at a certain temperature. It needs to be between one and fifteen degrees. Anything below or above that for more than a few minutes is dangerous to its development. And of course, the temperature determines the gender of the hatchling." "It does?" Twilight gasped, with Ocean Flow nodding again. "If the egg remains below eight degrees for the first few weeks, the hatchling will develop as a female. Above that and it becomes a male." "Fascinating," Twilight whispered, "Is that true for hippogriffs?" "I'm not sure. I've never had to look after a hippogriff egg. You'll have to ask somepony else." They nodded as Twilight suddenly frowned. "Um...is there anywhere I can go to the bathroom around here? In fact, how do I go to the bathroom in this body?" Ocean Flow laughed and got up off the couch. "I'll show you." She led Twilight out of the room while Flash got up off the couch and swam around to take a closer look at the place. The entire house was decorated in seashells and other underwater ornaments, only to see a picture frame that held a photo that looked like it was taken above the water. It showed Ocean Flow, only she was younger and appeared to be in her hippogriff form, alongside Sky Beak and several others, including Queen Novo. Sky Beak and Ocean Flow were both leaning against one another, looking happy. "That was taken a few weeks before the Storm King attacked." He spun around to see Ocean Flow swimming into the room. "It was one of the last times my friends and I were all able to enjoy ourselves above water until you defeated the Storm King." "My friends were the ones who beat him," Flash replied, "I was...busy elsewhere." He looked back at the picture, "You and Sky Beak looked really happy together." "Oh, we were." She took the picture, "Though we had several very different ideas of fun. He loved flying around and training to fight in the sky." "And you didn't?" Flash asked. "I've always had a fear of heights," she put the picture down. "Though it was more a fear of falling. That's why I loved it when we came down below the ocean. Kinda hard to fall when you're surrounded in water." "But you and Sky Beak still loved each other," Flash pointed out. "Even with how different you both were." "Yes, watching him leave was very difficult. Even harder when Silverstream chose to go with him. But it was the right thing to do. He belongs in the sky and I belong down here, in the deep. Terramar's always telling me how much Sky Beak is enjoying his life back on Mount Aris. And I know he's glad I'm enjoying my life down here." "Even though you two have to be apart?" "We're not apart," Ocean Flow shook her head, "We're just...not together. Besides, I have Terramar. Whenever he's around, it's like Sky Beak is still with me in some way. And I'm sure Sky Beak feels the same way about Terramar." As she said that, Twilight swam back into the room. "Ugh..." Twilight blushed, "That was...quite an experience." "Yes, it takes some getting used to. Now, would you like some snacks?" The pair nodded, deciding it couldn't be any worse than the seafood they had tried with Sky Beak. Seapony food seemed more the two's speed as they snacked, Twilight getting Ocean Flow to sign the permission slip as they continued discussing the many ways seaponies spent their days. A little while later, Terramar returned with the girls. Both Sweetie and Scootaloo looked upset, with Sweetie asking if they could head back up above the water since she wanted to go back to Harmonising Heights. "Oh," Ocean Flow frowned, "You're going? That's a shame." "Sorry mom," Terramar replied, "There are still a few things on the surface I wanted to show them." Ocean Flow nodded and gave Terramar a hug. "Well, don't be a stranger sweetheart. And give my best to your father." Terramar slowly nodded before they left the ocean building, seeing several seaponies swimming around. And as they got higher and higher, Flash noticed Sweetie's frown slowly fade while Scootaloo's struck around. When they got back to the surface, Terramar used his pearl shard to transform them all back into their land dwelling forms. Sweetie Belle seemed rather happy to be back on four hooves, though Flash noticed Scootaloo still had a pout on her face. But before he could ask what was up, a loud squawking sound caused them to look up and see Sky Beak and several other hippogriffs. "Princess Twilight! Sir Sentry! You're back! And just in time for the screeching competition." "Oh, why not?" Twilight giggled before looking back at the others. "Could be another trophy in my future! Be back soon!" "Hey!" Flash yelled as she trotted off, "You already won one trophy. It's my turn to win one." He flew after her and the pair laughed along with the hippogriffs as they flew up towards the cliffs. "So, how's this contest work exactly?" "Simple," Sky Beak explained as they flew to another part of the mountain, "This area of the mountain has some great acoustics, so if you screech into it loud enough, there'll be an echo. The winner is the one whose screech repeats the most times." As he said that, one hippogriff stepped up to the edge of the cliff. He took a deep breath and unleashed a mighty screech, which echoed through the canyon with Flash counting seven repeats. The hippogriffs all cheered as another one stepped up to replace the first. He squawked and his only repeated five times, with the hippogriff all continuing to applaud though, not as much as the last one. On by one, the hippogriff all screeched into the canyon. The echoes were of varying different amounts, with the lowest being three and the highest being ten. "Well," Sky Beak turned to the pair, "Would you two like to have a go?" They both nodded and Twilight walked up first, the princess clearing her throat as she prepared to let out a mighty cry. She then let out a high pitched screeching sound, trying to sound as much like a hippogriff as possible. The hippogriff all grinned at this as Twilight's voice echoed into the canyon, but it only repeated three times. She sighed at this as the hippogriff clapped, the mare returning to the others. "That was excellent," Sky Beak commented, "Truly one of the best screeches from a non-hippogriff I've ever heard." "How many non-hippogriffs have you heard screech?" Flash asked, making Sky Beak blink. "Including the princess...one." Twilight sighed as Flash chuckled. "Would you like the try again, now that you have the hang of it?" "Yeah!" Flash continued to chuckle, "If you want, I can step on your hoof for you. That might get a louder screech." "Funny," Twilight laughed. "But no, I think I'll just watch the rest of the hippogriffs compete." She trotted over as the three hippogriffs that all got tens stepped up to try and outdo each other. As she did this, Sky Beak turned to Flash. "I must say, you and the princess have such a strong connection with each other. The way you talk with one another, I've only seen it a few time with griffs and seaponies." "Thanks," Flash nodded. "Twilight and I have been together since we were kids, though our relationship's still pretty new." "Ah, love from youth...I remember that quite well." "You and Ocean Flow, you mean?" Sky Beak nodded. "Do you ever miss her?" "Of course. But I know I made the right decisions coming back to Mount Aris. With Queen Novo choosing to stay below the waves in Seaquestria, our people needed somegriff to lead them and keep the peace. It's where I belong." "Even though you had to give up the mare you loved?" Sky Beak smiled as he placed a claw on the pegasi's shoulder. "The world isn't always sunshine and roses kid. You're one of your kingdom's greatest heroes, so you must understand that with great power comes great responsibility. One day you may find you have to make a choice like mine. To stay with the mare you love, or to do something that'll take you away from her but allow her to live the life she deserves." Those words made Flash's mind go back to when he had met the Fire Heart of the future. He knew what it meant, and given the scar Heart now wore...it was still going to happen. "I know what you mean." Flash sighed, "I just...I just hope I never have to make that choice." "We all do kid," Sky Beak responded, "We all do." As he said that, a round of applause made them turn to see a hippogriff get lifted into the air. Sky Beak went over to join them as Twilight stepped over to Flash. "This place is amazing!" She cheered with a kick of her front legs. "What's been your favorite part Flash?" "Oh," Flash responded, "Wel...it's all been pretty cool. Don't think I could pick one thing." "Same," Twilight replied, "Too bad the girls weren't able to enjoy any of it. They've been so busy looking for their mission." "Did we ever find out if they found their mission?" Flash asked, Twilight shaking her head in response. "Well, we should probably go check on them. If they haven't found it by now, they might need a bit of help." "I guess so. We can't directly interfere though." "I know." Flash responded as they took to the air, soon flying down back to the beach. They spotted the trio there, Scootaloo and Sweetie sitting back to back with their front legs crossed and sour expressions on their lips. AppleBloom was standing between them, talking to them one at a time. As they got closer, they heard what Applebloom was saying. "Sweetie Belle says it's your fault that Terramar ran-" She stopped, "Oh. Wait. I already told you that, didn't I?" "Hey!" Flash called out as they landed, "What's going on here?" Twilight glanced around, "Where's Terramar?" "Uh..." Applebloom scratched the back of her head. "Well...he uh...he kinda left. He wanted to be by himself." "Which was not my fault!" Scootaloo cried. "Mine either!" Sweetie added. "Well, of course not." Twilight smiled at them, "Why would you think that?" They watched as Scootaloo and Sweetie glanced at Applebloom, who simply backpedaled before they all looked at each other. "Because it was our fault," they said together while looking down, Scootaloo then adding, "All we had to do was help him choose which world to live in." "And we let him down," Sweetie sighed. "Choose which world to live in?" Flash asked, "What are you talking?" Applebloom stepped up at this, "The Map sent us here because Terramar couldn't decide whether to live as a hippogriff or a seapony. We were supposed to help him choose." "Whoever said that he had to choose?" Twilight asked as the girls raised an eyebrow. "Well...he did." "Huh," Twilight stroked her chin, "Maybe Terramar's making it harder than it has to be?" "Yoo-hoo! Princess!" They glanced over to the ocean, now spotting Ocean Flow and two other seaponies, "We're having a seashell-crafting circle. Care to join us?" "Actually," Twilight scratched the back of her head, "We're right in the middle of-" "There you are!" They spun around to see Sky Beak and several other hippogriff land behind them. "The flag-folding ceremony's about to begin!" "Thank you," Twilight replied, "Really, I've had a great time in both places today, but..." She glanced between hippogriff and seapony, and then leaned over to the others and whispered, "Wow. This must be how Terramar feels all the time." "Oh!" They heard Ocean Flow speak up, "Hello, Sky Beak." "Ocean Flow!" Sky Beak smiled. "You're looking well." The hippogriff and seaponies all got up to the beach, talking and laughing as they caught up. Terramar's parents hugged, this sight giving the Crusaders pause. "Hmmm," Sweetie smiled, "This gives me an idea." She walked up to Sky Beak and Ocean Flow, "Excuse me. Can we talk about something important?" "Of course," Ocean Flow nodded. "What's up?" Sky Beak asked. "Well," Sweetie took a deep breath, "My friends and I were sent here to help your son. He's been having a hard time lately." "He has?" Both parents asked, the crusaders nodding back. "He thinks he has to choose whether to live as a seapony or a hippogriff," Applebloom added, "And he's had such a hard time he now thinks it's better if he doesn't pick either land or sea." "Oh dear," Ocean Flow gulped, "I can't believe he was feeling this way and we didn't notice." Sky Beak sighed, "I guess I've just been so excited about returning to Mount Aris that I didn't think he would have any issues." Flash stepped up at this, "Sounds to me like the problem isn't that he has issues being on Mount Aris. I think he doesn't want to give up either world, land or sea. But does he have too?" "Of course not," Sky Beak instantly responded, "If he loves Seaquestria, he can spend as much time as he wants there." "The same with Mount Aris," Ocean Flow nodded, only for the couple to share a glance as they both blushed, "Though...I guess we should have explained that to him." "Agreed." Sky Beak nodded. "Let's go find him." "Leave that to us," Scootaloo chimed in. Sweetie raised her hoof at this, "In the meantime, I have an idea that'll help Terramar feel a lot better and help him understand he doesn't need to choose." As it turned out, Sweetie's idea was a beach picnic. Ocean Flow and Sky Beak quickly spread the word about it as Flash and Twilight helped move all the food from Mount Aris and Seaquestria to the beach. The hippogriffs and seaponies were all excited by the idea, many wanting to see ponies that lived in the other kingdom that they had to say goodbye to. When the CMC brought Terramar back, he was amazed when he saw his parents and everyone else, the two soon explaining he didn't have to choose, he could keep going back and forth like he had been. This had resulted in the CMC completing their mission, their cutie marks soon glowing. To celebrate, they all sat and enjoyed the beach picnic. Though they soon discovered that salmon juice was not a good drink for ponies. "This was nice," Twilight commented as she and Flash sat on the beach, watching the sun go down. "I'm glad we came. Its a shame we have to return home tomorrow." "Yeah," Flash nodded, "But we can always come back the next time we have some time off. Or who knows, maybe another hippogriff student will need their permission slip signed." Twilight laughed at this as they heard splashing, turning to see Terramar and Scootaloo swimming in the ocean while Applebloom and Sweetie ran around laughing. "I'm glad Terramar figured out where he's meant to be. Now he can enjoy the best of both worlds." Flash nodded, but a thought entered his head. "Though he might end up choosing to live in one world eventually." Twilight turned to him, only for the defender to add, "You never know, he might end up meeting a hippogriff or seapony he really likes and want to spend more time with them. I mean, it could happen." "True," Twilight nodded, "Or he might meet one who likes going back and forth like him. That would sure be a nice life to live together." "Yeah...I hope he does. But even if he doesn't, I'm sure he'll find a way to make it work. After all, if you love someone, then you've got to be willing to do anything that makes them happy." "That's very insightful," Twilight giggled, "Who told you that, cuz I know you didn't think it up." Flash laughed as a hippogriff came over to invite them to play beach volleyball, the pair looking over and seeing the net set up on the section of beach where the tide came in. They soon ran over, Twilight offering to join the seapony team as Flash joined the hippogriff one. It had certainly been a fun adventure with the girls helping a young griff while Twilight and Flash learned more about the two different but linked species. The hippogriffs and seaponies were still learning to live in balance, and hopefully in time, that balance would be found and no other ponies like Terramar would feel torn between two worlds. But only time would tell if that would happen or not.