//------------------------------// // The Grotto to Everywhere // Story: Elements of Harmony // by kolbdog32 //------------------------------// AGRABAH, THE SEVEN DESERTS "But why?" Aladdin asked in disbelief. "You said you didn't need it. You threw it back to the ocean!" "The what now?" Pinkie asked. "The Hand of Midas," Cassim said. "An artifact that turned all it touched into gold. Aladdin and I went on our last adventure to find it. I had thought it a good riddance when I cast it away…but as it turns out, Iago and I need to live off something. I've only robbed those I believe truly deserve it, but that isn't enough to pay for food and necessities. I do not intend to use it for anything else." "Oh, that's just a load of – " Iago began, but another dirty look from Cassim shut him up. "Finding it will be impossible," Jasmine said. "The great turtle went back undersea for who knows how long!" "Great…turtle?" Twilight was confused. The Genie morphed into the shape of a great blue turtle. "The Vanishing Isle! Home of the Hand of Midas and other popular tourist attractions! Currently submerged in an unknown location!" "The Hand of Midas is destructive," Aladdin asserted. "We would only use it responsibly!" Cassim argued. "Or I would. I wouldn't let HIM touch it at all." His eyes wandered over to Iago, who groaned and didn't say anything. Applejack thought the whole conversation somewhat suspicious. "If anyone can help me find the Hand once more," Cassim said, "it is you. That is why I come asking your help. You must realize that it is an utmost necessity for me." "I won't do it," Aladdin said. "Not after last time." "I don't think this can get any more like an issue put to rest," Rarity pointed out. "It does fit with the prophecy," Twilight said. "What's more, though…" Rarity faced everyone at the table. "I think we should help him." "Rarity," Aladdin chastised, "there's a lot about this situation you don't understand." "What's to understand?" Rarity asked. "He's your father, and he needs this Hand of Midas quite badly. You could help him find it…and it may just be what we came here to do in the first place." "I agree!" Pinkie said. "Why not help out?" "It would be the nice thing to do," Fluttershy said. "Hang on," Twilight interrupted. "Maybe we don't understand enough. I mean, it does turn anything into gold…and that's dangerous! Besides, there's obviously something going on with Cassim and Aladdin's relationship – " "Blah, blah, blah," Rainbow Dash cut Twilight off. "This is our chance to actually get out there and DO something!" "Helping with the fire was something," Fluttershy pointed out. "But I still think we should go." "They have a point," Jasmine told her husband. "If Cassim needs the Hand…" "Please," Cassim said humbly. "I don't know." Aladdin turned to the one Element of Harmony he hadn't heard from. "What do you think?" Applejack eyed Cassim with suspicion. "If he really needs it that badly," she said sternly, "we should help him get it." "Fine," Aladdin huffed. "We'll help you find it." "I truly am sorry," Cassim said. "You…you have no idea what this means to me." Applejack took note of that as well. "Yeah, but how are we gonna find the stinkin' thing?" Iago brought up. "It's gone! Underwater! Lost!" "Retrieve the gift from siren's sea," Twilight said. "If the Vanishing Isle is underwater, that fits too. So we ask a siren? Do you know any sirens?" "Only one," Jasmine said. "Saleen." "Actually, Saleen would be more of a water elemental," the Genie pointed out. "But I can see how Phasir would get the two confused. Easy mistake to make!" "No, it isn't," Twilight grumbled. "Sirens use their hypnotic voices or manipulations of their victims' hearts' desires in order to deceive others. Water elementals can be anything from mermaids to…" "And she's lost in the desert of endless pointless knowledge," Rainbow Dash sighed. "What's the deal with this Saleen?" "Come to think of it," Jasmine said, "she has magic water that allows land-dwellers to breathe under the sea, and portals to almost every source of water in the Seven Deserts. If we could use her ocean, we could find the Hand easily." "And the catch is?" Applejack asked. "She's evil!" the Genie replied. "That is rather a setback," Rarity said. "I'm sure I can trick her into letting us into her ocean," Aladdin said. "After all, I tricked her once. I can do it again." "D'you always solve things by trickin' people?" Applejack asked. "As the Element of Honesty, I ain't sure I endorse that." "But there's no reasoning with her," Aladdin explained. "If we ask her outright, she'll try and turn us into sharks or imprison us underwater forever." "So she uses magic," Twilight said. "I'm sure it's nothing I can't handle. Well, okay, I was a little rusty with the sand magic, but I'm sure this time will be different." "Hang on," Rainbow Dash interrupted. "If we're going on a serious quest, I want a sword." "How do you even know we'll need to be fighting anyone?" Rarity asked. "It's just in case!" Rainbow Dash folded her arms. "And swords are cool!" "The prophecy did say we'd have to face blades of three," Twilight reminded everyone. "It sounds like a complex prophecy," Cassim said. Fluttershy gave a squeak of fear. "Three blades…I really would rather not fight anyone…" Abu, noticing her concern, gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Then it's settled," Aladdin said. "Tomorrow morning, we set out for Saleen's grotto." His eyes were still locked with those of his father. "My, this is exciting!" the Sultan gushed. "Shall I accompany you?" "Someone needs to stay here and keep the throne of Agrabah," Jasmine reminded him. "Oh, right!" The Sultan declared, "Then tomorrow, I shall have you all outfitted with everything you need for your quest! That includes a sword for Rainbow Dash." Rainbow Dash pumped her fist. "Yes!" None of them noticed the tiny clockwork beetle, not one of the Sultan's various toys, climbing up the wall and flitting out the window. Hidden in the tangle of streets of Agrabah was a most disreputable place: the Thieves' Guild. Here, the city's most prominent criminals gathered to have a bite to eat and try and outdo each other with tales of their deeds. Some preferred to stir things up and cause brawls, while others simply used the Guild as a home away from home in order to plan schemes. One such of the latter sat at the back table, a short, balding man dressed in a red tunic and a draping white toga with a great monocle upon his right eye to complete the vision. He waited, silently, patiently. The clockwork beetle flitted into the guild, dodging the swats of many a criminal, and landed upon the table before the waiting man. It then began to emit a series of clicks and clacks, a code the man had invented, and the man took care to document the code on a nearby sheet of parchment with his quill. The beetle ceased its clicks, and the man looked at what he'd written down. "Aladdin has teamed up with six strangers and the former leader of the Forty Thieves in order to retrieve…THE HAND OF MIDAS?" he read out loud before gasping. "The famed Hand of Midas, which turns all it touches to gold? Ohhhh, you have brought me valuable news, my pretty!" He patted the beetle before continuing to read what he'd documented. "The grotto of Saleen…of course! It would lead them right to the Hand! And if it leads them…it will lead me…and then I can check 'obtain treasures of untold worth' off my to-do list for conquering the known world!" "You and those lists," a sarcastic voice droned, and the man looked up to see the thief who continued to insult him, mocking his shrill voice: "Ohh, I say, I will eliminate my sworn enemy the dust bunny from this world, quite so, henceforth!" "Don't mock me!" the monocled man shot back, recognizing his insulter: a short, round man dressed mostly in gray. "Abis Mal…I should have known YOU would try and interrupt my plans, you disorganized lout…" "You and your big words, Mechanicles," Abis Mal retorted. "You know what they say about guys like you that use big words? They say you're all…a bunch of snobs that use big words!" He then turned to the man beside him, his ever-loyal sidekick, tall and willowy with darker skin than anyone else in the Guild. "Haroud…'lout' is an insult, right?" "Yes," Haroud sighed. "And a particularly bad one." "No one calls Abis Mal a lout and gets away with it!" Abis Mal threatened. "Why, I oughta just…just…word that means cut up into tiny little pieces…" "Mince, sir," Haroud groaned. "MINCE you!" Abis Mal finished. "As though you'd ever have the chance," Mechanicles snapped. "Disorganized, unprepared, uncouth…you couldn't touch me." "I don't have to!" Abis Mal said proudly. "You see, you just did yourself in when you talked to yourself! Why do you do that, anyway? Are you insane or something?" "Lots of geniuses talk to themselves!" Mechanicles defended. "And I am the greatest genius in all of Greece!" "Well, you're not in Greece anymore!" Abis Mal pointed out. "And that makes the greatest genius in all the land…" "Probably Aladdin," Haroud snorted. "Probably Aladdin!" Abis Mal repeated. "Which means NOT YOU! So, you wanna hear what I'm gonna do to make you mad and get a ton of money for myself at the same time?" "Not particularly," Mechanicles answered. "I'll tell you what I'm going to do!" Abis Mal announced. "I will find the Hand of Midas before you OR Aladdin, and then you won't have it! Also, that means I will have it, and I'll have all the gold I could ever want!" "You wouldn't even know where to start looking!" Mechanicles shot back. "Oh, I think I do," Abis Mal retorted. "You see," Haroud explained, "you did state rather clearly to yourself that the Hand of Midas could be found through Saleen's grotto, and probably by following Aladdin." "I…but…you…" Mechanicles couldn't deny that. "GAAAAAAH! YOU ALL FRUSTRATE ME SO MUCH!" He slammed a scroll of parchment with a long checklist upon it down on the table, using his quill to add a new item to the bottom. "Number 137: find a way to shame Abis Mal and Haroud in order to prove that I am the superior thinker!" He rolled the scroll up. "If that's the way you want it…we'll race for it! Tomorrow morning, when Aladdin sets out with his strange new friends, we'll both follow them by our own paths, and the first one to the Hand of Midas gets to keep it and have all the gold AND the rights to conquer the world with it!" "Did someone say the Hand of Midas?" A tall, skinny thief wearing a tall turban and maroon clothing skidded over to the back table. "The artifact that turns everything it touches to gold?" "Who are you?" Mechanicles asked, raising an eyebrow. "Hey, wait a minute," Abis Mal said. "Ain't you the guy everybody calls Butterfingers?" "That is NOT my name!" the skinny thief insisted. "It's Amin Damoola!" "Is he someone we should worry about?" Mechanicles asked. "Word on the street has it he's the worst thief in the entire Seven Deserts," Abis Mal answered. "So no," Haroud clarified. "I intend to change all of that!" Amin declared. "And I shall start with taking the Hand of Midas before either of you!" At that, both Abis Mal and Haroud burst into uncontrollable laughter. "YOU?" Abis Mal jeered. "YOU beat us and him to the Hand of Midas?" "I'll take this to mean I don't need to put shaming you on the list," Mechanicles muttered. "I will show you!" Amin vowed. "Tomorrow, all of us will set out by three separate paths! And I will beat all three of you to the Hand of Midas!" "Do you even know where you're going?" Haroud asked. "I…thought I'd follow Aladdin and see where he went," Amin admitted. "Hmmm…" Mechanicles looked back over his translation. "I wonder if these 'six strangers' are anything to worry about…" "It doesn't matter if he brings a thousand strangers," Abis Mal vowed. "I'll still get that Hand before ALL of you!" With that, he stormed off, and Haroud followed. "Well," Mechanicles huffed, rolling up his scroll and tucking the beetle away in his pocket, "I could get that Hand if Aladdin brought an army of TWO thousand!" He then walked away haughtily. "And I could get it if he brought…admittedly about three," Amin said to himself before leaving the Guild as well. The Sultan had provided the six Elements with spare bedrooms in which to stay. Each settled down in her new temporary quarters, ready to sleep before the following day's adventure, except for Applejack. She stayed up, walking with the royal family as they showed Cassim to his quarters. The Genie, the Carpet, and Abu eventually dissipated as well. "Go on ahead," Aladdin told Jasmine. "I'll be there in a minute." "I'll be waiting." Jasmine kissed Aladdin on the cheek before walking away to their bedchamber. "Somethin' about this whole deal with your dad's buggin' ya," Applejack asked, "ain't it?" "It isn't just that he came back here asking for favors," Aladdin sighed. "We really do come from two different worlds…metaphorically speaking. I'd still help him with anything else he wanted. He is my dad, and…I love him. But when we found the Hand of Midas together, he didn't just throw it away because it was dangerous. He told me he didn't need it anymore because he already had the greatest treasure of all." Aladdin sighed. "Me. I guess it was too much to expect…he'll never change. I just wish he remembered that. It feels like he's undoing everything he said by asking for that Hand." "That don't mean he don't love you," Applejack pointed out. "Heck, if I had a dollar for every time a member of my family went gaga for some nifty new plow or a fancy bow, I'd'a been rich enough to buy my Granny Smith a hip replacement three years ago. But we stick together, and when it matters, we pick each other over the little things. Just 'cause he wants that treasure don't mean he don't want you, and it definitely don't mean he don't think you're his greatest treasure of all." "I guess you're right," Aladdin said. "It just felt…I don't know." "I understand your concern," Applejack said. "If I'd'a heard the same thing from my brother after somethin' like you said happened when you first found the Hand, I woulda felt hurt too. But I know he loves ya. I could see it in his face." Her demeanor shifted. "That bein' said, that ain't all I could see in his face." "What do you mean?" "Somethin' ain't right about all this," Applejack admitted. "I could see it when he told the story. His excuse made no sense, especially knowin' what you just told me. He kept lookin' at Iago like he didn't want him to say somethin', like he's hidin' somethin'. And when he said you didn't know how much it meant to him? Sounded like it meant a little more than just buyin' food. More than just bein' greedy, too." "What would he have to hide?" Aladdin asked. "He isn't part of the Forty Thieves anymore. He doesn't have any of their secrets to keep, or any of them breathing down his neck. Not to mention…I thought we were past the days when we'd hide things from each other." "Then it must be somethin' real important," Applejack said. "If he ain't tellin' you…it's gotta be big. Tell ya what: when we set out, I'm gonna work on him. See if I can't get him to spill the beans." "I just don't know what he could have to hide," Aladdin reiterated. "Anyway…thanks, Applejack. It's not exactly a load off my mind, but it's a bit." "No problem, sugar cube," Applejack replied. "Now you go and get some sleep, and I'll try to do the same. Ain't used to livin' in such a big fancy place like this." "Tell me about it," Aladdin laughed. They parted and made for their separate bedchambers. MIRAGE'S SANCTUM, MORBUS Floating in the starry, cloudy void that was Morbus, the pyramid blazed with the flames of its torches, becoming a beacon of light. On the threshold of this pyramid was where Discord materialized. Unlike the other travelers from his world, he retained his old form, the body of the draconequus. He did have a human form he could have taken…but here in Morbus, he saw no reason for it. He strode casually into the pyramid, walking down hallways decorated with murals and hieroglyphics that spoke of famines, pestilences, and plagues. Some of the scenes of destruction gave him the giggles. At last, he reached the inner chamber, where he saw her. She looked every inch the daughter of Bastet that she was: a tall, willowy anthropomorphic black cat with a shapely hourglass figure, dressed in a red skirt and short red top edged in gold, with a golden, snake-topped crown upon her head and a shock of black hair cascading down the back of her neck. "Guess who!" Discord cried, spreading his arms and grinning. This gave the Old One standing before him a shock as she turned to face him. Slowly, she grinned. "Discord, my old friend!" she cried. "How long has it been?" "One thousand years for me," Discord answered. "But after all, between worlds, time is relative. I'm surprised to see you out and about!" "Most of us were sealed away," Mirage responded coyly, "but as you can see, I am as free as I please. I'm surprised to see you. How did you escape your prison of stone?" "Some upstart thinking she can control us let me out," Discord answered. "Nothing to worry about. If I see her again, I'll show her what's what. Please, tell me you've been using your time to the fullest!" "Kidnapping children," Mirage listed, "destroying villages, casting sleeping spells, trapping people in illusions, generally spreading evil across the land…I guess you could say I've been quite busy." "Now that's what I like to hear!" Discord applauded. "You always were better at pure evil." "I left the chaos to you," Mirage snorted. "Your brother, on the other hand, decided to pay me a visit and try to make me more…spontaneous." "Chaos Junior?" Discord replied excitedly. "He's free, too? Oh, this is too rich! Then again, he never could hold a candle to me." "He's nothing but a self-righteous brat!" Mirage spat. "You, on the other hand…" She purred seductively. "You are MUCH more tolerable." "Seeing how the two of us are already free," Discord said, "and Chaos Junior to boot, why don't we make it a party and find all the others? This could be our big break!" "I like the way you think," Mirage said. "Of course, I've been too busy with my work. There aren't that many of us left, you know. I have a lot of ground to cover, and there are far too many do-gooders out there who think it funny to thwart me." "I've always been good at multi-tasking," Discord reminded Mirage. "We'll split the difference: you keep doing what you're doing, and I'll expand my scope. If we work fast, we might even be able to dig up the old hangout!" "But it's gone," Mirage pointed out. "The Atlanteans did rather a number on it. It only makes me that much happier that they got their comeuppance later. In the meantime, why don't we pick a shorter-term goal?" "Hmm." Discord placed his bird-claw against his chin, stroking it thoughtfully. "What territory are you working on now?" "The Seven Deserts is a particular favorite stomping ground of mine as of late," Mirage said solemnly. "It's nearly an addiction. Creating evil there is so easy, but it is so quickly extinguished. I simply can't let the challenge go." Discord snapped his fingers. "I have JUST the thing!" His hands glowed with magic, and he swirled them around a spherical area of air, creating something that he held behind his back. "Try and guess!" "You know I hate this game," Mirage sighed. "Something that holds the doom of the Seven Deserts?" Discord held out an obsidian-black oil lamp. "Ta-daaaaaa!" Mirage gasped, placing a hand over her heart. "It cannot be! It doesn't make any – " "Sense?" Mirage's shock turned to glee, and she smirked. "You never were one to make sense. I forgot the extent of your powers." "It's a simple reset button," Discord explained. "It's been set before, right?" "Once," Mirage said. "By a powerful user of the darkness. A faerie sorceress." Discord raised an eyebrow. "A mere faerie used the reset?" "Yes," Mirage groaned. "She imprisoned Aladdin's djinni, restored that lamp, and even fixed the Cave of Wonders." "What did she look like?" "What you'd expect. Pale skin with a touch of green to it. Black robes and a hood with horns. A staff with a green crystal sphere. Raven sidekick. How typical." Discord thought back to the alicorn that had freed him. "Interesting…anyway, if I remember correctly, this baby would cause the greatest possible chaos in the Seven Deserts. It should make your job much easier! I just need one thing from you." "And what is that?" "Give it to the one person who deserves it LEAST," Discord said with a grin. "The one person who will misuse it to its greatest potential. Now, I've been asleep for a thousand Fourth Equestrian years, so I have no idea who's who around the Seven Deserts. You do." He held out the lamp. Mirage took it, cradling it like a baby and making sure not to rub it by accident. "Ohhhh," she purred. "I know exactly who to give this to." "I look forward to the results," Discord said. "Leaving already?" Mirage asked, disappointment tinting her voice. "Oh, I'll be back soon," Discord promised. "And I plan on leaving my mark on the Seven Deserts in more ways than one. You see, six beings I absolutely LOVE to toy with just landed there. Not to give them all the chaos I could possibly rustle up…well, it just wouldn't be me! Until then!" He snapped his fingers, and he was gone. Mirage looked again to the black lamp, anticipating the moment when she would grant it to its new owner. AGRABAH, THE SEVEN DESERTS "Rainbow Dash…wake up…" "I don't wanna," Rainbow Dash complained, rolling over in her bed. "But we have to get going!" Twilight insisted, shaking Rainbow Dash's shoulder. "Our quest for the Hand of Midas, remember?" "Two more hours," Rainbow Dash muttered. Twiilght smirked. "Okay…but the later you sleep in, the later you'll get your sword…" Rainbow Dash rolled back over and leapt out of bed. "What are we waiting for, Twilight? Today's questing day!" She then ran out of the room. Twilight shook her head before following. Most of the palace's subjects engaged in a morning prayer before going about business; the six Equestrians, having never really thought about worshipping any deity beyond paying respect to Celestia and Luna, bowed respectfully but mostly just observed. Then, after a hearty breakfast, the group finally banded together at the atrium of the palace, ready to move out. "I managed to snag one of the best swords in the royal armory," Aladdin told Rainbow Dash, handing her a short sword with a curved blade and a deep purple sash with which to strap it to her waist. "So…awesome…" Rainbow Dash looked at her reflection in the blade, admiring its shine, before tucking it away in the purple sash. Outside the palace doors, Aladdin and Jasmine moved immediately atop the Carpet. "Carpet can carry about three," Jasmine realized. "We'll have to figure something else out…" "Still this business with flying carpets!" Cassim groaned. "What's wrong with horses?" "They're slow," Iago pointed out. "HEY!" Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Twilight, and Applejack yelled. "What?" Iago looked frantically at each of them, trying to figure out where he'd gone wrong. "What'd I say?" "What Iago means," Aladdin corrected, "is that Carpet can cover more distance than humans OR horses can." "Don't worry about transportation!" the Genie said with a wink. "I've got that covered!" He transformed into a small open-roofed jet plane that could seat six, with two rows of three seats. "All aboard the Genie Express! Remember to turn off all cell phones and laptops before takeoff!" "Uh…what's a cell phone?" Applejack asked. "I have no idea," Aladdin admitted. Twilight began to move toward the Genie-plane, but Applejack put out a hand to hold her back. "I think you should ride on Carpet, since you've always wanted to see a real one up close and personal. Cassim don't seem too set on carpets…so he can sit by me. That is, if Al and Jasmine don't mind." "Not at all," Jasmine said, and Twilight settled herself on the carpet with a squeal. "If it's all the same," Rainbow Dash said, "I'd rather fly. I bet I can keep up. Fluttershy, you game?" "I'd rather not," Fluttershy said timidly. "After all…I'm wearing a skirt." Fluttershy settled in next to Rarity in the Genie-plane, while Pinkie sat behind them. Abu clambered onto Fluttershy's lap. Applejack and Cassim sat up front, with Iago on Cassim's shoulder. Cassim couldn't help but pick up vibes of disapproval from the woman beside him. "Prepare for liftoff!" the Genie commanded. The Carpet rose into the air with Aladdin, Jasmine, and Twilight on board, and the Genie-plane ascended similarly. Rainbow Dash spread her wings, taking off straight upward. The Carpet, the Genie-plane, and Rainbow Dash turned toward the sea and took off, sailing through the air, leaving in their wake only a thin rainbow trail. "He probably thinks he's so superior, all the way up there in the air," Abis Mal grumbled. "Well, what's wrong with horses? Why do they need some stupid carpet anyway?" "Perhaps it's because horses are slow," Haroud suggested. "You know," Abis Mal retorted, "if I was a horse, I would be very offended by now." The partners in crime spurred on their horses to follow the rainbow trail, not even stopping to wonder who or what was making it. "A winged woman leaving a rainbow in her midst?" Mechanicles pocketed his spyglass after watching the party leave via air. "Hmm…odd. Well, all things to be dealt with in time." He brought out his checklist, adding "Find out who the rainbow woman is" to the very bottom before rolling it up again. He sat on a chair embedded into the back of a giant metal scorpion, about the size of a train car. Pulling a few levers, Mechanicles caused the scorpion to roar to life and click-clack its way across the desert after the rainbow trail. "So he thinks he can fly, does he? Well, little does he know…I kept my flying shoes!" Amin Damoola flew more or less smoothly along in the sky, using clouds to cover his path as he kept a good distance from the Carpet, the Genie-plane, and Rainbow Dash. However, he still couldn't keep the shoes from causing him to occasionally tip head over heels or occasionally switch direction altogether. Because of this, he progressed even more slowly than the metal scorpion or the thieves' horses, despite having the power of flight, but he too followed the rainbow trail. THE COASTLINE, THE SEVEN DESERTS "It just seems like a big thing, is all," Applejack said. "You sure there's nothin' you want with it other than to get food and necessities?" "Absolutely sure," Cassim said without batting an eyelash. "What more could I want? But a man has got to eat, after all." "You sure you're tellin' me the truth?" Applejack pressed. "Why would I lie?" Cassim retorted. He didn't know how this woman could possibly even suspect his reasonings. Ahead, on the Carpet, Aladdin, Jasmine, and Twilight discussed a plan for getting around Saleen. "…in that case," Twilight commented, "Rarity's the perfect one for the job. Still, I want to see if we can settle this by discussion first." "She won't listen," Aladdin reminded Twilight. "So we keep Rarity out of sight," Twilight said. "If Saleen really won't listen…then she won't have seen Rarity with us, and she won't suspect that Rarity's our agent!" "You're sure Rarity will agree?" Jasmine asked. "We've done stranger undercover missions before," Twilight reassured. "Besides, she always enjoys having someone to discuss fashion with, no matter what." "Genie!" Aladdin yelled over to the other craft. "Let's land a way back so Saleen doesn't see us coming!" "Roger that, captain!" the Genie replied, beginning his descent. "Race you to the ground!" Rainbow Dash yelled, zooming past. "Oh, that is not fair!" the Genie cried. "You had a head start!" He plummeted after her so quickly that Fluttershy and Rarity screamed in terror, and Abu and Iago clung desperately to Fluttershy and Cassim respectively so as not to be flung off. "You're on!" Aladdin cried, steering the Carpet after Rainbow Dash and the Genie. Jasmine and Twilight gripped the edges of the Carpet, exchanging the rolling of eyes. Rainbow Dash planted down behind the rocks of the coast first. The Genie swooped into a landing soon after, and the Carpet touched down third. "Ha!" Rainbow Dash cried. "Beat ya!" "Now try doin' it without a head start," Applejack said with a wink. "NO!" Iago screamed. "DON'T TRY DOING THAT AGAIN AT ALL!" "Rarity," Twilight said, "we thought of a plan to get around Saleen. But we'll need your help." "But of course!" Rarity said eagerly. "What is it you want me to do?" "You see…" Aladdin took her aside to brief her on the plan. After hearing her assignment, Rarity nodded. "I'll be on standby, then. Although I hardly think that anyone with such an interest in good hair could be all bad…" "Believe me," Aladdin moaned, "she is." Rarity knelt in hiding behind the rocks as the others crossed to the sandy beach, looking out over the waves. "This is the place," Jasmine said. "Looks innocent enough," Cassim observed. "Saleen?" Twilight called out. "Saleen, we're here to talk to you! We just have a small favor to – " Twilight was interrupted when a gigantic wave rose from the ocean, headed right toward the beach. Everyone but Twilight screamed and ran back to the rocks of the coast; Twilight held her position. "TWILIGHT!" Fluttershy screamed. Twilight threw up her hands, flattening her palms. A square shield of pink magic formed upon them, spreading out to a large mass. The water collided with the shield, pushing against it, constantly fueled by a rush from the sea. "We…are going…to TALK!" Twilight insisted. She faltered; the pink shield cracked, fell away, and dissolved. The wave crashed down, sweeping her out to sea. After being knocked head over heels, Twilight surfaced, gasping for air. She was a few feet out to sea. Beside her, another humanoid form surfaced, rising up so that she was above water from the waist up. It was a pale-skinned woman with voluminous orange hair cascading down her back, wearing a golden tiara, earrings made from seashells, and a strapless orange bodice. "What do you want, you inferior little land-dweller?" the woman spat. "You must be Saleen," Twilight said with a nervous smile. "I'm Twilight Sparkle, and I – " "And you thought your magic could outdo mine," Saleen snapped. "No, no!" Twilight said hastily. "I just thought you started out by acting kind of rashly, by sending in that wave and all, and I – " "Listen," Saleen barked. "You came here with the royal family of Agrabah, who I happen to hate. I wouldn't go easy on them. What makes you so sure I'm going to spare you?" "I don't know what happened between you," Twilight said, "but I'm new to this whole situation. Maybe I can help you work things out! Why do you hate Aladdin and Jasmine, anyway?" "Because," Saleen said, putting her hands on her waist. "They wouldn't let me have my way. I was going to take Aladdin away from his precious princess. I very nearly had broken them up for good, and they had to go and ruin everything!" "Oh," Twilight said softly. "So…you were in love with Aladdin, and he was already betrothed to Jasmine?" "I never said I loved him," Saleen replied. "Stealing him away was a challenge, and I NEVER lose a challenge." "Well, that seems a little unfair," said Twilight. "Unfair?" Saleen raised an eyebrow. "What do I care about fair? I don't play fair when I sink the ships on this ocean, I don't play fair when I'm trying to steal someone's heart, and I don't play fair in a challenge!" "You really are evil!" Twilight snapped. "Or at least incredibly selfish!" "Did you want something or not?" Saleen asked snippily. "Is it too much for her highness to let us use her magical waters to find one underwater location for just ten minutes?" Twilight spat. "It wouldn't be," Saleen said, "but the answer is no. Now, since you're new to this, I'm going to let you off with a warning. But try and interfere with my ocean again and I'll drown you. Got that?" "You can't - !" Back on the coast, the others watched as another great wave rose up. As it crashed down on shore, it deposited one very soaked and disheveled Twilight. "I take it the discussion didn't go well," Cassim observed. "Just get Rarity," Twilight growled. Rarity wandered down among the tidepools at the edge of the coast. "Why?" she sobbed in mock melodrama. "Why must these things always happen to me?" She lay down on the edge of one of the tidepools, adding crocodile tears to its supply of water. "Are all stallions the same? I hate him! I hate him so much! And of all things, he had the nerve to call me…UGLY!" The waters stirred. Saleen rose from them, showing herself from the waist upward once more. "What's this I hear?" she said with interest. "Boy trouble?" "An awful, awful boy!" Rarity moaned. "He completely shattered my heart! Ooh, they're all the same!" "Land or sea," Saleen agreed. "Who was he to call you ugly? I'm not saying you couldn't use a makeover, but you do dress better than most of the land-dwellers around here." Rarity had to restrain herself from responding to Saleen's suggestion of a makeover. "He was a prince," Rarity said. "Prince Blueblood! I've never met a more stuck-up man in my life! And what's worse, he was friends with this completely uncouth and deceitful but enticingly handsome OTHER prince!" "Let me guess," Saleen replied. "Aladdin of Agrabah?" Rarity fell back into fake sobs. "That's the one!" "You poor thing," Saleen said with genuine pity. "Here. What you need is a genuine style makeover. Come with me." She grabbed Rarity's wrist and dove; Rarity plunged under with a scream. Once underwater, she could see Saleen's body in full, and observed that below the waist, she had the tail of a fish, much like the being she'd seen combing her hair on the shores of Avalon. Rarity found, strangely, that she could breathe underwater, a testament to the power of Saleen's ocean. Saleen dropped Rarity down on a vaguely chair-shaped rock sticking out of the sandy ocean floor. "Armand!" she called, and an enormous octopus slithered into view. "Do something about this land-dweller's hair." "Whatever you need to do," Rarity said. "As long as it takes!" Saleen removed Rarity's hijab, looking over her purple curls. "We've got a long way to go, Armand," she told the octopus. Rarity suppressed a grin. Just as planned. Armand began by tilting a narrow shell over Rarity's head and dumping some sort of shampoo-like substance onto her hair. He then picked up a cracked half-shell of a purple sea urchin from the sea floor and placed it upon Rarity's head, winding locks of hair around the spines. "So tell me more about this Prince Blueblood," Saleen said, regarding Rarity with interest. "Well," Rarity began, "every year, my kingdom – which is to say the kingdom I live in, not the kingdom I rule, I'm not a princess – holds a great festival. A gala of sorts. This was the year I was finally going to attend the gala with a VIP invitation and meet the most dashing prince in our royal family: Prince Blueblood…" "It worked!" Twilight rushed down to the tidepool where she'd seen Rarity and Saleen plunge under. "Okay, everyone…I should be right back!" "Be careful," Jasmine advised. "Oh, I will," Twilight assured before slipping quietly into the water feet first. The others had been right; the water was magic, and she could breathe under it easily. She was sure she could manipulate it to become a breathable supply once they reached the underwater Vanishing Isle. She turned and dove downward. She spotted Saleen and Rarity right away, along with the gigantic octopus fiddling with Rarity's hair. Twilight made sure to steer clear of them, touching ground out of Saleen's sphere of sight. She looked around. The grotto was made up of several blue coral walls, many of which had windows in them that looked out onto vastly different vistas. Out one, Twilight could see a coral reef. Out another, a sunken ship. Twilight looked up to the rocky roof; she could see the tops of buildings through some of the holes in it, indicating that the water opened out into urban wells. "…and so I created the perfect gown," Rarity continued her tale, part fabrication, part memory. "It was absolutely beautiful. Pink with gold edging. A full tiered skirt." "With your hair?" Saleen shrugged. "I suppose it could have worked." Twilight slunk along the coral walls, making sure Saleen was distracted by Rarity's story. She looked out window after window. There, a mess of shadowy caverns. There, a great sleeping squid. There, a great turtle resting upon the ocean floor in the distance, a city upon its back…the Vanishing Isle! Twilight shot up toward the surface. "And what, then, would you have suggested?" Rarity asked Saleen as Armand teased her hair into even smaller, finer curls. "Probably white with gold accents," Saleen suggested. "A loose skirt, something I could dance in without being too restrictive…oh, you meant for you, didn't you? Well, I guess white would work on you too. Just not as well." Twilight's head broke the surface of the tidepool; the others watched her from the coast. "I found it," she announced. "We'll have to go in one by one. Rarity has Saleen pretty distracted, so we should be able to make it if we're all quiet!" All eyes turned toward Iago. "What?" the macaw cried defensively. Aladdin slipped underwater first. Twilight formed a sphere of the water of the grotto around his head so he could use it to breathe once he entered the wider ocean. Twilight briefed him with directions to the Vanishing Isle, and then down he went. "…so I yelled at him, 'AFRAID TO GET DIRTY?'" Rarity continued, gesticulating emphatically. "They always are," Saleen remarked. "Princes are so vain, don't you think? I don't know how I could stand someone that vain and self-centered." Rarity decided to leave that one alone. Behind Saleen, she spotted Aladdin, slinking along the coral wall before ducking out one of the windows. Determined not to betray the others with her wandering eyes, Rarity continued: "So I flung the icing at him, and he was positively horrified at the prospect of even getting one little bit on his precious suit!" Now Jasmine was slinking through the same window. "Well, needless to say, that was when I knew he was nothing but a filthy heartbreaker. Metaphorically, of course. He wouldn't even let a speck of dirt touch him." Now Cassim made his way to the window and out of the grotto. Rarity continued to embellish her story as she discreetly watched the Genie, Fluttershy, Abu, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Iago, Pinkie Pie, and even the Carpet follow the same trail. "…so I smashed the slipper on the steps to make sure he could never find me!" Rarity said, expecting Twilight to descend. "That would have been one fairy tale you wouldn't want to come true," Saleen commented. "Your hair's done, by the way." Armand held a mirror up before Rarity. She had to admit the octopus had done a fabulous job. Her hair was now a glorious mass of tight curls, a portion woven around the spines of the urchin shell. "It's gorgeous!" she said honestly. "You're starting to bore me," Saleen said, putting a hand on Rarity's shoulder. "Is this Blueblood anywhere around here or not? I need to know if he's worth stealing." "After all that bad-mouthing, you still WANT to steal him?" Rarity asked in confusion. "Well, my home kingdom is far away anyway. You couldn't get to him." "Hm…pity." Saleen pushed Rarity roughly off the rock chair. "Now get out of my grotto before I – " Saleen turned to face the window in the coral wall, and her jaw dropped. Twilight was almost to the window, and stopped, giving Saleen a sheepish grin once she realized she'd been caught. "YOU!" Saleen cried. "You tricked me, didn't you? Well, I'm not letting you get away with this!" She waved her arms, sending a wave of multicolored energy toward Twilight. In a panic, Twilight cast her own arms out, summoning the most powerful reflection spell she could imagine. Saleen's energy bounced off Twilight's spell and headed right back for its source. "NO!" Saleen screeched as a whirlpool formed around her and spun her round and round, dizzying her. Rarity quickly swam toward Twilight, who cast a sphere of the grotto's water around her head before adding one to herself. Then the pair paddled through the window together, dropping onto the wide plain of open sea leading toward the sunken turtle. When the whirlpool finally released Saleen, the mermaid clenched her teeth in anger. "I could just drown the next mortal that comes this way!" she growled. A large splash alerted her to the metal fish sinking into her domain. "No!" Saleen screeched, turning and blasting her energy at the contraption, forcing water in through the cracks and disabling the submarine's motor. Inside the fish-shaped submarine, Mechanicles screamed in terror as salt water soaked his toga. "NOOOOO!" he screamed. "THIS WAS MY FINEST SILK!" Saleen, now on guard for any noise whatsoever, was alerted to the sound of hooves along the beach. "Don't even think about it!" she yelled, summoning up a great tidal wave. "Here we are," Abis Mal told Haroud as the two reined in their horses upon the beach. "The coastline of – " His statement was interrupted as a gigantic tidal wave swept over both thieves, soaking them thoroughly and carrying them out to sea. "URRGGGGGGH!" Saleen cried. "That Twilight frustrates me to no END!" She thrust her fists in the air, sending up two sky-high sprays of water just to release her anger. Amin Damoola, having finally made it to the sea on his unreliable flying shoes, looked downward at the ocean just in time for a spray of water to hit him in the face. THE VANISHING ISLE, THE SEVEN DESERTS "There it is," Twilight said in awe. "The Vanishing Isle." The water stolen from Saleen's grotto allowed sound to carry from one adventurer to another. "Here we go again," Iago moaned. "The Hand is in there," Cassim said, pointing to a spot in the city atop the turtle. "We should be able to retrieve it with no trouble." "Except for the blades of three," Twilight reminded him. "Now, Cassim," Applejack attempted, "before we go rushin' in, I gotta say that somethin' just don't feel right about – " Sensing where Applejack was going, Cassim rushed ahead. "We may as well make this quick! How about another race, Rainbow Dash?" "Underwater?" Rainbow Dash asked, running to catch up. "Are you kidding me?" At the thought of a challenge, her face lit up. "You're on!" "He's hidin' somethin'," Applejack said. "I just know it!" "We'll figure it out later," Twilight said. "Now come on!" The group rushed across the ocean floor toward the sunken metropolis.