In the middle of the night it was even darker deep below the waves than it normally would have been. According to what Daylight said, light from the sun can penetrate over a thousand feet, but deeper than a few hundred was basically insignificant. Rainbow didn’t know how she knew that but she was the light expert after all so she didn’t question it. Now though—the twinkling from the stars and the modest glow from the moon provided nothing for them. And they had only just left Palm Floats behind and gone under in their submersible, starting the final trip to Merlantis.
Ballast manned the controls to The Breakwater while Senax, Daylight, and Breakwater himself sat in the available seats around him. Rainbow and Gilbert had chosen to stand. Either way, no matter where they were, things were going to be as cramped as a can of apple sauce. That was apparent as Rainbow and Gilbert were pressing up against each other despite their best efforts to make some space.
“Are we there yet?” Rainbow droned.
“That better be the only time you ask that,” Daylight glared over her shoulder at her.
“Relax, Rainbow Dash, you better get used to it cause it’s going to be a long ways down,” Breakwater said.
“Sorry that I can’t make it go any faster, but I can at least give us something to look at while we go,” Ballast said and flipped on the lights.
Immediately the powerful lights illuminated the ocean depths in front of them and in an almost comical recurrence a school of frightened fish swam away in every direction. But now they could at least see a decent distance ahead of them. It’s just that all that was there was open water. Any sea creatures had been scared away by the lights and probably the motor of the submersible as well.
“Much better,” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.
“We’re really not going to see anything until we start getting closer to the bottom. Underwater rocks, mountains, trenches, the seabed itself, we’ve got a way to go. Most of the ocean is just empty water after all,” Breakwater shrugged. “And it can be as deep or even deeper than the tallest mountains are tall.”
“Whatever—I’m used to it. I’m used to ocean travel by now,” Rainbow sighed and shook her head. She knew complaining wasn’t going to get her anywhere but that didn’t mean she didn’t want to still complain.
“I think by the look of things it’s going to be a pleasant trip to Merlantis. The ship is steady, we’ve got each other to talk to, and the water does look quite beautiful right out the viewport,” Gilbert said, as optimistic as ever.
“I should’ve brought cards...” Rainbow said.
“No,” Daylight frowned.
“I could’ve just played Solitaire on Gilbert’s back,” Rainbow shrugged.
“You know what—I just realized something funny,” Senax said.
The others all turned to look at her—she’d been quiet until now, staring out the viewport. Considering what they were doing, no one had wanted to bother her if she wanted her own space.
“What is it?” Rainbow asked.
“I just realized that this is the deepest underwater I’ve ever been. I’ve never swam this far down before. I just thought it was funny—my people used to live at the bottom of the ocean but this is the first time I’ve been this deep and it’s happening inside a mechanical ship,” Senax smiled. “I don’t know, it’s just funny to me. Here I am going back home inside a big tin can. I’m a merpony, couldn’t I just swim on my own? I wonder what Ponyseidon would think about all this...”
She relaxed in her seat and leaned back as best she could in the cramped confines of The Breakwater. “But you know what? I don’t care what he would think. With everything he did, everything he was responsible for, I’m happy to do things differently. When I first step hoof in Merlantis—it’s going to be the beginning of a whole new world.”
At first the others just blinked at her, but then a smile grew on Rainbow Dash’s face, then Daylight’s, then Gilbert’s, and Breakwater’s, and Ballast’s. They were just as happy to help Senax with that first step as she was to make it.
In the gullet of a gigantic eel swimming through the ocean…
Coral Sea stood surrounded by her best warriors of the Sarraroccon Order in the moist insides of the Passenger Eel. It was not the most pleasant way to travel, but it was the most secret way that was unknown to all but the highest members of the Order. Their manta rays that they used to pull barges and ferries around were a trifle compared to the giant Passenger Eels that were trained and bred to cross the entire Grand Ocean itself. And go as deep as need be. Magical crystals embedded in the Eel’s flesh gave both air and light—while food and water had been brought by the passengers themselves to last their journey.
She held a scroll in her hooves, open, with her eyes intently looking over the map drawn on it and the golden dot in the middle.
Closer.
Closer.
She smiled.
“I don’t think it will be that much longer now, my ponies. Soon the Sarraroccon Order will have what it has deserved since the revolution,” Coral Sea said.
The warriors did not say anything in return, knowing she was mostly just talking to herself.
Coral Sea rolled the scroll up and hoofed it over to another pony to take, sitting down and focusing her thoughts for a moment. Oh how very much she was looking forward to this. Ever since the way to Merlantis had been lit up once that merpony had acquired the Necklace of Ponyseidon, Coral Sea and her most trusted underlings had been getting ready to go. With any luck they would be the only ones on the way to Merlantis right now—and the only ones who could get there at all.
Her eyes glanced over to the aged Master Wasabi standing beside her. Though in fairly advanced years for a warrior he was still the best, there was a reason he taught the younger initiates. When she notified him of this sacred mission he had picked the rest of the warriors to join them himself. In a way… she would’ve liked to have notified the entire Sarraroccon Order of what was going on—bring an army with her and forget the upheaval or chaos it would cause. In the end she chose a subtler way to go about things. She did treasure the lives of all those who lived on the Archipelago and didn’t want to upset them if they could avoid it.
Most didn’t know the truth of the Order and its origins. Even most in the Order didn’t and had no idea she was not safely on Pink Salt Island anymore, meditating and praying for their well-being.
Instead they would return with the Trident in hoof and bring a glorious new day to the Archipelago. Everyone will be so surprised, so awed, so enamored as she reveals both the treasure and the truth to them. Coral Sea would have much to explain but she was well-prepared for that moment. It’s what had been dancing in her mind ever since she became aware of the merpony.
The smile on her face grew wider. “Hopefully we can walk right through the tainted halls of Merlantis without any trouble. What our ancestors left behind should not be a threat to us. And then-” her smile turned malicious as a fire grew behind her eyes. “I’ll do more than just let Merlantis sit peacefully on the bottom of the ocean when we leave. That city—that symbol of Ponyseidon—all of it shall be washed away.”
She closed her eyes and sat back, letting the wondrous images and the thought of claiming what the Sarraroccons have deserved for centuries fill her head.
Soon. Soon they’d be there.
In an even more cramped submersible as it powered through the ocean…
“So uh...” Dredge coughed. “A-Anyone got any games they like to play to pass the time while we’re doing this? Anybody?” He looked around at his passengers with a forced grin. “Please?”
Old Diver was grinning like a wackjob while he looked out the viewport, his two butlers were terrified, and the four other stallions with their spears and scars didn’t so much as twitch an ear when Dredge spoke up. Only Godfrey responded with a smirk and a light chuckle as he sat next to Dredge—thoroughly crowding the shipwright and making him uncomfortable thanks to the cramped insides of his submersible. Everyone was pressed up together and they had to be really careful of those spears when they first came aboard.
“I don’t think you’re getting much conversation or fun out of these new pals of mine,” Godfrey said.
“W-Who are these friends of yours anyways?” Dredge asked, uncertain if he really wanted to know or not.
“Heh, just remnants from Bosche.”
The moment he said that word, the stallions stiffened and their eyes narrowed in anger, while Old Diver’s butlers went from terrified to mortified.
“They’re Boschese!” Dredge yelled. “You’ve got me ferrying Bosche soldiers too?!”
“Guess the news hasn’t spread completely yet but Bosche is done for—no one’s going to care,” Godfrey waved his talon around. His words seeming to make the soldiers even angrier and yet they didn’t do anything, just silently fumed. “These guys are the last soldiers who managed to have a little sense and join up with me to get revenge on the pony that tore apart their country. Took a little convincing though.”
Dredge looked over his shoulder at the soldiers crowding around. Well that explains the scars…
“We’re good friends now though. It’s always more enjoyable to do things when you have a crew with you,” Godfrey grinned.
“I feel like I’m in some kind of nightmare...” Dredge muttered. The two butlers nodded.
“What are you talking about? This is a dream come true!” Old Diver happily exclaimed as he stared into the water, his expression full of childlike joy every time he saw a fish swim by. “I don’t know how you managed to make something like this but it’s magical! And I’m about to uncover the lost city of Merlantis and make sure my name goes down in every history book out there!”
“The old-timer certainly has the right way of looking at things, gehahahahaha!” Godfrey laughed.
Dredge brought a hoof up to his face and dragged it down his exhausted features, he was sweating and it wasn’t just because of all the ponies in here. Did he really hate Ballast enough to be dragged into this? There was no possible way this could be worth it. Maybe he should’ve just tried to run off somewhere instead…
“Something on your mind?” Godfrey asked him, seeing the state he was in.
It was of course a sarcastic question.
“You gonna kill me when this is over?” Dredge asked back anyways. Thoroughly done.
Godfrey seemed a little surprised that Dredge actually flat out asked him that. He then smirked and lifted up a talon, wobbling it around. “Ehhh, we’ll see how I’m feeling by the end of it. Right now I’m pretty happy though so you might be a lucky pony. Besides—there’s probably some kind of treasure down there you might be interested in taking too. So try and look on the bright side like the old guy.”
“There is something seriously wrong with all of this,” Dredge shook his head and returned his focus to piloting his new submersible. “At least I’m proud to say that my ship works as well as it should...”
“That’s the spirit, just enjoy your new invention’s maiden voyage, think about victory, like me,” Godfrey said and lightly touched the Necklace again to make the beam of light appear. It shot into the dark waters ahead of them—directly ahead—going down deep. His eyes twinkled with anticipation. “Right on course.”
On a wooden raft drifting in the middle of the ocean…
“How’d you get down there, Rainbow Dash?” Heartless asked as she peered over the side of the driftwood raft she had floated all the way out here.
Her smiling pink face and bright blue eyes were reflected in the water as she tilted her head back and forth, side to side, to make sure she wasn’t feeling things wrong. Nope. Rainbow Dash was definitely down there. It was impossible for her to mistake that warm light of life for anything or anyone else. She was sooooo happy to know they were going to be reunited soon.
“Oh well, here I come!” Heartless shrugged and jumped off the raft, diving into the water and swimming down.
To Rainbow Dash.