//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: Kingdom of the seaponies // Story: My Little Pony: The New Rewrite Movie // by Arkogon //------------------------------// Back on the hot air balloon, the ponies had crashed onto the shore but push onward to the top of the mountain. They began to make their way up as the fliers, minus Twilight and Fluttershy, flew straight up to get a better look and make sure there weren't any obstacles. The others walked and found the path, which like the mountain, had been carved out of rock and placed atop the dugout soil. "We had to crash the balloon at the bottom of the mountain!" Rarity said, desperate. "That's it! I simply... cannot... even! I have nothing! The bad guys have won! I'm so sorryyyyyyyy-y-y-y!" She dramatically cried out as she laid on the ground until Rainbow Dash announced. "We're almost there." "Will you stop saying that?!" She asked incredulously. "No really." She smiled before she flew ahead to see the entrance to the Hippogriff Kingdom. Twilight gasped with a smile and Applejack laughed good-naturedly. And Rarity sighed, "Time to rest my hooves!" They arrived but saw it was completely abandoned, no Hippogriffs or any creature in sight. "Are we sure this is the right place?" "Hello?!" The orange earth pony asked. "Is anypony home?!" As she said that, Pinkie began warping around the place in a way that only Pinkie Pie could. "No Hippogriffies here!" She called out before warping. "Or here! Or here! Or here or here or here!" She then appeared in front of Twilight. "Waaaaaiiit!" She lifted a stone in front of the alicorn and peered under it. "Nope!" She dropped it. "This place is emp-ty!" "But..." Twilight gulped. "Celestia... the map. They have to be here." Flash frowned, placing a wing on her shoulder. "Look..." He pointed at a nearby statue showing a hippogriff in all its bird pony glory. "They were here. But Celestia isn't all knowing. She couldn't have known they left." "But why did they leave?" The alicorn asked as Spike stepped up to the statue. "Maybe something bad happened here." He stated. "Something that turned this whole place into a ghost town." "A g-g-g-g-ghost town?!" The yellow pegasus quivered. As she said that, a new sound filled the air. An ominous noise that sounded like some kind of ghostly moan, the sound making Fluttershy gasp and shrink down. "What's that sound?" Rainbow Dash asked, as Twilight's ears twitched as she found the source of the wail. "It's coming from over there!" She ran to a cluster of rocks that was once a collapsed building, the moaning echoing out of a gap in them. They found the gap in the rocks led to a corridor, Twilight soon lit up her horn so she could see and she went inside the tunnel, with her friends following and soon they found themselves in this wide cave near a pond where the humming was now louder and a big flower was in the water and shining. But the singing stopped when Pinkie stepped onto a piece of a staircase leading down to the pool, the old stone breaking away and causing a noise that made the musician gasp. "What was that?!" The singer then dove out of the flower and into the water. "Hey!" Pinkie yelled as she ran to the pond. "Wait up! Cannonball!" She said happily before jumping in the water. "Pinkie!" Before she could find her, they all bumped and fell into the water. They pop their heads soaked wet, as Pinkie appears out of the water as well. She's gone!" She gasped, only for the sound of a machine's gears turning to ring out. "Huh?" She asked before they realized she had been caught up in a whirlpool, caused when the flower in the pool lifted up to reveal it was actually a plug keeping the water in, as it began sucking them all in. "SWIM!" The orange pegasus screamed, the group trying as the vortex quickly snagged them under. "Oh, boy..." Rarity whined as they were pulled under. "I hate epic adventures." With that, everypony was yanked down into the spiral of water. A few seconds later, they found themselves no longer spinning and instead in an exit-less room completely full of water. They looked around and saw that they were all holding their breath, but wouldn't be able to hold it for long. The ponies began to drift off, unable to hold their breath any longer until they let the air they were holding out before breathing in the water around. But there wasn't any. All they were breathing was pure clean oxygen, causing their body to reactivate and allow them to slowly open their eyes. But it was what was around themselves that shocked them as a large air bubble encased their entire head. "Way to leave it to the last minute, Twilight!" Pinkie yelled as she too had an air bubble. In fact, they all had them now. "I didn't make these bubbles!" She yelped, told them. "Then... Who did?" Fluttershy asked. As she said that, the sound of the water around them sloshing around caught their attention, as they gasped. And they see a creature peeping and hiding. "Hello?" Twilight asked. "We're looking for the Hippogriffs." As she speaks nicely. "How do I know I can trust you?" The mysterious creature asked. "Please." Twilight begged. "The Atlantians invaded our land. And we need their help." "The Atlantians?!" The light yelped before it started moving toward them, eventually revealing a yellow seapony. "I'm so glad I saved you guys! I'm totally taking you to my mom!" Then Twilight gasped. "Does your mother know where they are?" "Oho!" She singsong and giggles. "She might have an idea!" They swam deeper and deeper into the ocean, Twilight asking how much further it was due to fearing they might be crushed by the pressure. "We're almost there!" She announced as they reached the end of a long cave of rocks, soon arriving at an opening into a larger cavern. The place was so large that every building in Canterlot could have been fitted comfortably inside it three times over. It was a massive dome-like structure with plants growing out of the sides and floor while hanging from the ceiling were a series of house sized glass objects that gave off vivid lights that filled the entire chamber. And in the very center of it all was what looked like a giant castle that was hanging from the ceiling, which looked fancier and more carefully constructed than any other building. The seapony swam up to the underwater city and as they did, Flash sensed movement and looked down to see more seaponies. They were hiding in the rocks and plants, the older ones pulling the younglings away. "Not to friendly, are they?" Applejack added, seeing them hiding from them. "I'm sorry." The yellow seapony replied "We don't often get outsiders coming here." "How many outsiders have appeared here?" Flash asked. "Including you?" She asked, and they nodded, she started countering. "Eight." They arrived at the entrance to the castle. The place had a moon pool, allowing them to swim up into it, only to find that the inside of the castle was just as flooded as the outside. The seapony started spinning around, showing off the place as they looked around and found it was a throne-room that was made entirely out of coral and other underwater constructs. They stared at the coral throne, and when they did, they were greeted to the sight of a creamy pink seapony with a purple and pink mane fin that had three blue antennae, she had a pair of purple wing fins, and the end of her tail was tipped by a purple fin. She was laid out on the throne, looking almost asleep. "Mother..." She swam up to her. "Look what I found!" "Is it another shell?" The Queen asked, rubbing her eyes as the younger one shook her head. "Because I am telling you if it is another shell, I am-" She stopped and gasped when she saw the group, only to glare at her daughter. "Princess Skystar, what have you done?!" She turned to glare at the ponies. "You know surface dwellers are forbidden here! Guards!" As soon as she said that, four seaponies in armor swam out and pointed spears at them. "No no n-no!" Skystar cried as she swam in front of her. "M-M-Mom, please! It is so not like that! The Atlantis Queen is trying to destroy their home, too!" "Is this true?!" She asked, getting a nod from them. "We need to find the Hippogriffs." Twilight responded. "Do you know what happened to them?" She asked. And the queen answered. "Well, of course I know. I'm the queen. I know everything." She spoke sternly. Then Skystar speak up with a happy tone. "Oh, oh, it's such a good story!" "Don't you dare tell them!" The Queen warned her but she tells them. "Once upon a time, like, a while ago, the Hippogriffs did live on Mount Aris." She revealed an image of the hippogriffs peacefully in Mount Aris. "Did I not say don't tell them?" Telling her daughter. "But hey, I'm just the queen. Don't mind me." "Fine! I can't tell you!" The yellow seapony tells before smiling and creating a projection of the Octopus Queen. "But if I could tell you, I'd say that that tentacle octopus did show up to destroy us!" "Seriously?" The Queen sighed. Skystar then projected another image of the hippogriff queen and then the projection of the underwater kingdom. "But, to keep it out of her clutches, their brave and majestic leader, Queen Novo, hid them deep underwater where he could never go!" Another image appeared, showing the city they were currently in. "We are... Well, we were the Hippogriffs! Ta-da!" She laughed and whispered. "But I totally did not tell you that!" "Well, I guess the pearl is out the oyster now." The Queen gestured to herself. "I am Queen Novo." "Hold on now. Lemme get this straight." Applejack added. "When the Atlantians came, you just abandoned your entire city and fled?" "We didn't flee!" Skystar barked back. "We swam! Y'know, in order to flee." "But... how?" Twilight asked with curiosity. And the yellow seapony spoke up, turning to her mother. "Oh! Can we show them? Huh? These are the first guests we've had in, like, foreveeerrr! Can we, can we, can we, can we, can we, can we, can we, can we, can we?" Begging her mom. "Well..." She thought before swimming up to a jellyfish chandelier that hung above the throne. "I suppose I should make sure it still works." She chuckled. The two royals began swimming around the chandelier, causing it to glow before it unleashed a bunch of tendrils from within. The tendrils were wrapped around something, slowly unfurling to reveal a pink orb-like object with light coming off of it. "Careful, now." She told her daughter as she reached for the orb. Skystar let out a squeal as her mother held the orb and started waving her fin above it, causing the object's glow to intensify before leaving it. The light shot toward them, wrapping around the group, popping their air bubbles as it did so. But instead of drowning, they found themselves able to breathe underwater. And that wasn't the only change. One by one, they all began to transform. They amaze and laugh at their transformation. "Oh my! These fins are divine!" Rarity squeals. Laughing as Rainbow swam over to Applejack. "Hey, Applejack, I'll race ya to that coral!" "You're on!" She exclaimed as she grabbed her hat and swam after Rainbow while Pinkie started doing tricks and circles in the water. "Woo-hoo!" She giggled, turning to Fluttershy, who was simply floating in the water while holding her new tail. "Ooh! Try it, Fluttershy!" Fluttershy giggles "Yay." Then Twilight looks at Flash seeing him as a seapony. "Wow, you look amazing." "And you look amazing too." As he stares at her seeing she's a seapony. "Beautiful...." This made her blush how he said. "Guys? Guys?" They turned to Spike as he began to float upward. "What is-" His entire body expanded as small spins stuck out the sides, making them realize he had become a puffer fish. "Happening?!" "Aw..." Fluttershy smiled as Spike floated up. "So cute!" While they're having fun and laughing, Twilight soon realizes the Hippogriffs can defeat the Atlantians with the power to become seaponies in the sea, believing this is the key to defeating them and the Atlantis Queen. "This is amazing!" She gasped before swimming over to Novo and stared at the pearl in her fins. "With this, we could transform everypony at home into something powerful enough to face the Atlantians-" "Or it could end up being destroyed!" Queen Nova roared, pulling the pearl away. "But..." The alicorn brain completely froze, unable to believe that she was refusing to help them as Novo's expression softened for a moment. "Honey, I'm sorry about your home. I truly am." She then glared at her. "But my responsibility is to protect my subjects." She held the pearl up and the tendrils grew it, pulling the relic up into the chandelier again. "The pearl... is not going anywhere." "But... we've come all this way." As Twilight started to lose hope. "Mom, what about our Protector?" Skystar announced. "She might help us." "Do not speak about her! They mustn't know." The Queen try to keep her shut but Flash heard. "What we mustn't know?" He asked, now have the attentions to their friends. Outside of the sea, Ray and Hark track the scent back to Mount Aris, and arrive to see it was still abandoned. Hark manages to track it as he notices it coming from under the sea. "Hark smells land-ponies under the sea." "Where?" He asked. Hark pointed downward, as Ray checked the sea if he's right. One crust he picks up, he now sees the Hippogriff are alive and the Mane Six are with them. "They are alive, but hiding under the sea. We've been tricked by their magic." He looks at Hark. "Return to Tempest, and inform her to bring the army. The Hippogriffs are alive." "Hark is going alone?" He asked, why he's returning alone. "I attend to stay." Ray replied. "I have other plans to complete the Queen's mission." Hark nodded and swam away, returning to the Atlantians. And Ray set up his plan to complete his mission.