//------------------------------// // The Necklace of Ponyseidon // Story: Rainbow Dash Around the World // by MagicS //------------------------------// “So she’s okay with everything? Your matriarch doesn’t mind?” Rainbow Dash asked the Princess. “She understands that it is time for her to part with the Necklace. And she trusts you to continue to help us,” Princess Fairscale said. She looked straight at Senax. “Now please, if what you have said is true we have no time to dawdle, come with me.” “Works for me,” Rainbow Dash said and looked over at Senax. “Let’s go,” Senax swiftly nodded. “Finally,” Daylight sighed in relief. “All the stress piling up was just about making me go insane.” She smiled at Senax. “Are you feeling alright?” “My heart is beating so hard I think it might explode,” Senax said. “Well… I think we can take that in a good way at the moment,” Daylight awkwardly grinned. “Yes, the excitement has gotten to me so much that I really feel much the same,” Gilbert nodded. “I just want you to get your people’s treasure back for your own sake,” Breakwater said and placed a comforting hoof on Senax’s back. “Thank you,” Senax smiled at all of them. “Even with everything going on, this all means a lot to me coming from you. Now let’s go to the Keeper-” she stood up straight with a determined look on her face. “I’m going to get the Necklace of my people.” “Good, I kind of want to just see if this thing is really that big of a deal at this point,” Godfrey shrugged. Everyone turned to glare at him. “What? Did you forget I was here or something?” He grinned. “Shut up, Godfrey,” Rainbow Dash shook her head and glanced at Fairscale. “Well? Lead the way.” Princess Fairscale nodded and stepped away from the door. “The Keeper’s—the matriarch’s—chamber is far below here, deeper inside the mountain. Let us walk swiftly.” The entire group left the small meeting room and followed her, seeing that a number of the elders were also joining them on their trip down to see the Keeper. Senax stayed in the front right behind the Princess while Rainbow Dash stood next to Godfrey and kept a sharp eye on him. The griffon didn’t make any signs that he was going to do anything, and largely appeared like he would continue to work with them for now against the bigger threat, but Rainbow obviously wasn’t going to take the risk. The others walked beside each other, sharing a few looks that varied between curious, hopeful, and worried. Unsurprisingly, things were pretty quiet as they all walked together towards the lower levels of the castle that melted right into the core of the mountain. Stairs. Hallways. Doors. Dust. It was a route rarely traveled, although just today this would be the third time. Probably more times than the Princess would come here in a normal year by the look of things. Cobwebs sat in the corners of the ceiling and only a seldom few torches were lit to provide any illumination. Another door led to a spiral staircase that tightly wound down for maybe a hundred feet. Once they reached the bottom of it, the walls had transformed into a far more natural sort of cave rock. What might have been the castle above them was left behind completely. It seemed the matriarch preferred staying somewhere closer to home. Even then they still found themselves walking down a long hallway with a few wooden beams across the ceiling to support it. Every now and then a bat would flutter past, or a rat would scurry across the floor. Finally ahead of them after five more minutes of walking they could see something. A great red door—whatever wood had been used to construct it was painted an imposing red. Possibly as a warning if anyone not welcome had somehow found their way down here. The elders shuffled forward past the rest of them so they could make it to the door first, resting their scaled hands against it and muttering something. A spell? A prayer? Either way they said nothing at all to the Princess or Senax’s group before they slowly started to push the door open so they could all walk in. Past the door was a large chamber, circular in shape, with a high, domed, ceiling. From that ceiling numerous flaming chandeliers hung to provide much more light than the preceding tunnel. There was nothing carved or painted anywhere, the stone floor was just that, for all intents and purposes it looked like a completely natural chamber inside the mountain. Perhaps its one denizen simply preferred things that way. For the only thing truly of note in here was sitting directly across from the red door. Senax gasped, Rainbow Dash let out a single “Whoa”. Daylight Gleam blinked in surprise, Gilbert tilted his head, Breakwater seemed stunned, and Godfrey raised a single curious eyebrow. The head of a gigantic lizard was embedded in the wall, alone it stood twice as high as any lizard, with its chin resting on the floor. The rocks around it seemed to mold into and become part of its scales, almost like the huge lizard had merged with the mountain itself. Its wide mouth—full of needle teeth—was open while a forked tongue lay on the rock before it. The scales that covered it were cracked, faded, and some nearly melting off as if the lizard was in the process of decaying. But its grand eyes, red as blood, still shone with a bright light. Those eyes were the only sign it was still alive—for the lizard head did not move in the slightest nor show any signs that it even breathed. The six visitors didn’t know what to say or do. They watched as Princess Fairscale stepped forward, halfway into the chamber, and bowed. “Matriarch—Keeper of the Necklace of Ponyseidon—I have brought the Child to you,” Fairscale said. A rumbling came from the matriarch’s head and a deep voice projected itself across the room despite the mouth of the great lizard not moving. “Welcome, Child of Ponyseidon. I have been waiting for you for some time now.” The booming voice nearly brought Senax to her knees but she managed to step forward, hooves shaking, until she was nearly right in front of the large mouth and looking up into the matriarch’s eyes. “My people would’ve come sooner if we could. But… as I believe you must know, a lot has happened since we separated.” “Indeed. It pains me to know what you have been through.” Senax frowned, fighting to keep an accusatory tone out of her voice. “If that is true, then why almost send me to death, on a nearly impossible task, before giving back the Necklace to me?” “Though I began my role loyal chiefly to the orders of your ancestors, over time my strength has been tested. The strife. The doubt. I will not lie that my loyalty wavered, and my compassion for my own children came to be my first concern. As I watched them grow at first—then fall apart. My despair. My worries. It is a difficult thing to keep loyalty to another while knowing that your own children may suffer for it.” “I’m sorry… I do understand, truly.” Senax sadly looked to the floor. “And now… now you have been told what else is about to come. And you’ll still give the Necklace to me even with what will happen.” “It is still yours to have. And I believe in you—you are a kind child.” “It’s not just that your island might be put in danger though—you’ll die,” Senax said. “That itself will only be a new beginning. I have lived long enough, too long. It will be good to join my children who have already passed on. That is something I have been looking forward to for some time now. All eventually ends in this world after all, and I have had more time than most to come to peace with that. Besides, my lizards are in good hands now.” “Then I promise we’ll do everything to help your people today. We won’t leave the island behind. As a merpony—I feel it’s my duty to pay back the love and loyalty your people have shown us.” “Your words will allow me to rest easy. Thank you, Child of Ponyseidon.” Senax nodded to the great head as her lip trembled. “S-So what now? I… I really, there’s so much I want to ask you!” Senax suddenly shouted, surprising her friends. “There’s so much I want to know! So much I know you could tell me about Ponyseidon, Merlantis, my people, everything! I-I wish I could stay here and talk with you for days! And I know you would love it too, I know you’d want to hear about how the merponies are doing back where I used to live, you probably want to hear about the trip me and my friends have been on since we came to the ocean. Y-You probably have so many questions too!” Senax started crying, unable to help herself. “But we can’t… we should be happy… we should be able to share stories… have all the time in the world to talk to each other. But we don’t. There’s no time for any of that! There’s no time for us at all…” “No, there isn’t, Child.” “It’s wrong. It shouldn’t be this way,” Senax shook her head. “Why—after so many centuries does it have to be this short? Why did things have to happen this way? Even right now it’s getting worse and worse just from us staying and talking like this. I-I know we don’t have the time for this but I can’t help it! I want to talk with you more… I want to learn more… I don’t want this to end.” Senax breathed heavily, her chest heaving as she looked on the verge of sobbing harder. At last she brought a hoof up to her eyes and wiped away the tears. “I’m ready...” “As am I. The Necklace of Ponyseidon will now pass from me to you. Do not worry about what happens to me. Do not mourn me. Wear your treasure proudly and you will gain what you desire—the path to the Trident and Merlantis.” “Thank you,” Senax said. “And goodbye.” As soon as the matriarch finished “speaking” her tongue was pulled back into her mouth and the great maw of teeth closed—the first movement she had made. Then her blood red eyes closed and all at once her green scales started to change. Their color dulled even further and shifted to a pale grey, soon matching the stone all around the matriarch’s head. And from the center of her head, a great, brilliant, golden light began to shine. Something was emerging from inside her body, phasing through it as if held someplace that could never be called physical or reachable to begin with. Princess Fairscale and the elders gasped, bowing down to the floor, Rainbow Dash and the others stared on in awe as the Necklace in all its glory came out of the matriarch and floated through the air towards Senax. The merpony reached up and grabbed it, holding and staring at it in wonder. It was so simple. Just a loop of golden chain with five teardrop shaped crystals hanging from the bottom of it. To think this is what she had been searching for for so long, it almost made her laugh and cry all at once. She had it. She had the Necklace of Ponyseidon. One of the lost treasures of her people—she had finally reclaimed it. And not only that, it would lead her even further. Senax held it close to her chest and took in a deep, shuddering breath. “Thank you… thank you...” A big dumb grin came to Rainbow Dash’s face and she practically flew right over to Senax. “Well what are you waiting for?! Put it on!” “Rainbow Dash...” Daylight glared at her. “Relax, Daylight, I think Rainbow’s attitude is just what’s needed right now,” Breakwater smiled. “Quite indeed,” Gilbert also smiled while tugging his mustache. Godfrey stood with them, looking on curiously. Surprising even himself, he felt a genuine sense of wonder at the light of the Necklace. “I… I suppose this is it then,” Senax said. She took one last look up at the now practically stone face of the matriarch. “I will remember what you did for me and your people.” She turned around to face her friends and the other lizards. “Princess? I-I’m sorry that you had to see that… did you not want to say anything to your matriarch before...?” “I already said everything I needed to,” the Princess responded, barely lifting her head to look at Senax. “Please, put on the Necklace, show us all what you have been waiting for.” Senax nodded. “Okay. Here I go.” She exhaled, gulped, and lifted the Necklace above her head. She put the golden loop over her spiky green mane, past her webbed ears, and let it rest upon the back of her neck. Placing her hooves back down on the ground she stood there. Blinking. Waiting. Everyone else watched her as nothing happened, the Necklace just kept shining. “D-Do I do something now? Do I need to say something?” Senax asked. Rainbow Dash shrugged. Princes Fairscale also looked a little confused. “Umm...” Senax reached up and pawed at the crystals dangling off the Necklace. “Come on… hello? Please show me where the Trident is.” She frowned. “I think I’m doing something wrong...” The light from the Necklace suddenly intensified until it was like looking directly at the sun and everyone else in the room had to shut their eyes and look away. Wincing, Rainbow Dash lifted a hoof to her face to block out most of the light and just barely peeked her eyes open to see what was going on. Shortly after a few seconds the intense light diminished, but didn’t completely die away, and the others could look too. Senax floated a foot above the stone floor, her eyes wide open and reflecting golden light. “S-Senax?” Rainbow Dash asked. The merpony didn’t answer but her body turned and a beam of light, untouchable and unstoppable, emerged from the Necklace. It shot through the stone walls of the mountain, through Rainbow’s body because she was in the way—though it did not harm her at all, in fact she felt nothing—and continued going on and on. There was no way they could see where it ended but the beam of light was clearly going to the west. Rainbow Dash stepped out of its way, lifted a hoof up to it and waved through it a few times to see if that did anything. But the light just kept shining in one direction. A guide to the Trident of Ponyseidon. At last Senax stopped floating, her hooves touching back to the floor, and the golden light left her eyes to return them to their normal selves. The signal beam from the Necklace however kept shining, even as Senax moved and wavered slightly from disorientation it always kept shining perfectly in the same direction no matter where the Necklace was. “I… I...” Senax shuddered. Rainbow Dash went over to hold her steady. “Whoa, careful now.” “I see it,” Senax said, barely above a whisper. “I see it all. The Trident… Merlantis… I know where it is and how to get there.” A smile came to her face as her eyes filled with tears. “Rainbow Dash, everyone, I’ve found my home.” Coral Sea sat at her driftwood table, meditating, when a powerful burst of magical energy came from behind her. Her eyes snapped open, and she turned with mouth agape to stare at the great stone map on the wall. It was shining. The entire tablet was glowing with a golden light, the waters of the Grand Ocean, the islands, they were all silhouetted and outlined as the shimmering light started to coalesce and center on one spot in particular. Fittingly, it was somewhere that was almost the direct center of the Grand Ocean. In an area where there weren’t any islands that close by, and certainly not any large ones. The glowing light continued to shrink down until it truly was just a single point—smaller than Coral Sea’s own hoof—and shone brightly on that one spot. No longer did the light move or change. It perfectly marked the spot and what was hidden there deep beneath the waves. A smile from the deepest parts of Coral Sea’s heart came to her face, followed by joyful, uproarious laughter. She practically jumped from her seat to stand before the map, rising on her hind legs and placing her hooves just under the shining spot. “She did it, she actually did it!” Coral Sea shouted. “The merpony has found the Necklace—and the door to Merlantis has been opened!”